Ohanian: Armenia is guarantor of NKR people’s physical security

“The situation in the South Caucasus is currently developing under the impact of a number of economic, political and military-strategic factors. The situation remains difficult and potentially explosive,” Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian said at the second forum “Political and Security Guidelines for the Formation of the Military Component of CSTO” held in Yerevan today.

“There is an ambiguous geopolitical situation in the responsibility zone of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Despite the fact that the majority of CSTO states are in the Central Asian region, the South Caucasus remains at the center of CSTO’s attention. Armenia, not having borders with the CSTO partners, is interested in easing the tension and establishment of stability in the region,” S. Ohanian stated.

In his words, the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is a priority. “We are committed to a peaceful resolution of the problem, but Armenia was involved in an arms race launched by Azerbaijan. That country openly declared that it intends to achieve a review of the state quo by military means. It makes us spend a large part of the state budget on improvement of the defense systems. Armenia should be prepared to withstand the aggressive intentions of the enemy, especially taking into account the fact that Armenia is the guarantor of the physical security of the people of Nagorno Karabakh. In case of a possible resumption of hostilities against Nagorno Karabakh, Armenia will be fully involved in these actions and will force the enemy to give up its plans,” the minister said.