New Armenian Defense Chief Sees Closer Ties With Russia

Armenia’s new government will maintain and even deepen close military ties with Russia, Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan said on Wednesday.

The newly appointed minister met with Russia’s charge d’affaires, Andrey Ivanov, and military attaché, Major General Yevgeny Bulavintsev, in Yerevan to discuss long-running military cooperation between the two nations.

According to the Armenian Defense Ministry, they discussed “ways of further developing joint interaction at the military, military-political and military-technical levels” and “mapped out upcoming tasks.”

A ministry statement said Tonoyan stressed the significance of “strategic allied relations” with Russia for his country’s defense and national security. He said they “will continue to be expanded using the great potential existing in a number of areas.”

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian gave similar assurances to Russian President Vladimir Putin when they met in Sochi on Monday. In particular, he reiterated that his government is committed to Armenia’s membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Pashinian told also told Putin that he was “very impressed” with Russian military hardware that was put on display at a May 9 military parade in Moscow.

Russia has long been the principal supplier of weapons and other military equipment to the Armenian army. Membership in the CSTO entitles the South Caucasus state to receiving them at discounted prices or even for free.

Last October, Moscow agreed to provide the Armenian government with a fresh $100 million loan that will be spent on buying more Russian weapons at internal Russian prices set well below market-based levels. It already lent Yerevan $200 million for the same purpose in 2015.

The weapons acquired with the 2015 loan reportedly include, among other things, Smerch multiple-launch rocket system, thermobaric and anti-tank rocket systems, shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, and army radios.

Armenia also hosts a Russian military base that has been reinforced with modernized warplanes, combat helicopters and new artillery systems in recent years. Successive Armenian governments have regarded the Russian troops as a crucial deterrent against neighboring Turkey, which fully supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

By choosing Tonoyan as defense minister, Pashinian clearly sought to underline continuity in Armenian defense policy. Tonoyan, 49, served as minister for emergency situations in the previous Armenian government and was the country’s first deputy defense minister from 2010-2017.