Koryun Nahapetyan: Offensive weapons sold to Azerbaijan have become a serious threat to Armenia and CSTO

The head of the Armenian Standing Parliamentary Committee on Defense, National Security and International Affairs, Koryun Nahapetyan, offered his colleagues from Russia to visit Artsakh to familiarize themselves with the situation after the Azerbaijani aggression. 

At today's joint meeting of the Armenian and Russian Committees on Defense and National Security, Nahapetyan recalled that Azerbaijan launched large-scale offensive that killed both servicemen and civilians. He added that the Azerbaijani side used the offensive weapons purchased from Armenia's strategic partner Russia, including Smerch and TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers.      

"Azerbaijan's aggression against the people of Artsakh created a critically dangerous situation in the region. We have repeatedly warned about Baku's possible military aggression, given the intensive acquisition of offensive weapons by Azerbaijan, its officials' statements about the intention to use violence, as well as its destructive position in the peace process. Despite the arrangements to cease the fire, the Azeri armed forces keep firing at the Artsakh positions," Nahapetyan said. He praised Russia's role in the truce, but he added that the shortsighted and incautious statements of some Russian politicians caused a negative reaction in the Armenian society. "The offensive weapons sold to Azerbaijan have become a serious threat to Armenia and the CSTO. We may have unpredictable and irreversible consequences in the region," he said. 

He added that the Azeri armed forces' barbarian actions against the people of Artsakh can only be compared to the activities of the Islamic State and other terrorist groups. He noted that the international community has not so far made any specific statements to stress the unacceptability of mutilating the bodies of Armenian soldiers and civilians.