Monday, November 13 2023 20:04

ArmInfo. The Bastion multi-purpose offensive armored vehicles produced by Arquus, which  France sent to Armenia, were previously intended for Ukraine, but Kiev has refused them. The Ouest France Internet portal writes.

It is noted that the Ukrainian authorities considered the 12.5-ton  vehicles to be poorly protected from artillery fire and anti-tank  missiles.

It is recalled that France responded positively to Armenia's request  for military assistance in early October against the backdrop of the  threat posed by Azerbaijan. And already on October 22-23, at a  meeting of the head of the French military department, Sebastien  Lecornu, with the Minister of Defense of Armenia Suren Papikyan in  Paris, it was announced that an agreement on the supply of arms to  Yerevan had been reached.  "Bilateral cooperation agreements were  then signed as a prelude to rapid deliveries of military equipment by  France. France then completed the sale of three Thales Ground Master  200 (GM200) radars and signed a memorandum of understanding for the  supply of Mistral short-range air defense systems. The second  contract concerned Yerevan's acquisition of night-time binoculars  vision, equipment manufactured by Safran," the source writes.

It is stated that the first confirmed delivery concerns light armored  vehicles of the Bastion type, which is capable of carrying a combat  group of eight soldiers, providing protection against small arms fire  and mines. It is noted that the armored vehicles, after delivery to  the Georgian port of Poti, will be loaded and then sent by rail to  Armenia.

It is also stated that Azerbaijan is not fancy by France's sending of  weapons to Armenia i, which condemned the rapprochement between Paris  and Yerevan. Baku said that this step by France would lead to an  escalation of the situation in the region.

It is noteworthy that Azerbaijan, which throws hysterics over every  arms contract with Armenia, is itself actively arming itself. Just  today there was a message that Azerbaijan will additionally buy Barak  MX air defense systems from Israel in the amount of $1.2 billion.  Before this, Baku actively purchased weapons from Turkey and Israel  for hundreds of millions of dollars. In addition, the Azerbaijani  authorities, while loudly declaring the need for peace in the region,  continue to threaten Armenia and increase the defense budget.

Let us also add that on November 11, on the sidelines of the 6th  Paris Peace Forum, reacting to the accusations of the Ambassador of  Azerbaijan to France Leyla Abdullayeva against Armenia, Armenian  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan noted that every sovereign country has  the right to have an army and acquire weapons. "Azerbaijan also  purchases a huge amount of weapons. Azerbaijan's budget for the  purchase of weapons is three times larger than that of Armenia," he  said.