ArmInfo.The issue of maintaining the military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan is constantly on the CSTO agenda, and the enemy should not have certain advantages in terms of armaments. This was stated in an interview with journalists in parliament on November 5 by the head of the Standing Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, MP from the My Step faction, Andranik Kocharyan.
''It is very bad when Armenian soldiers die from weapons sold by their ally, but do not forget that our Armed Forces also have such weapons. However, the problem is not in the supply of weapons, but in achieving peace'', Kocharyan said. According to the MP, maintaining the military balance is a constant issue on the CSTO agenda, however, this issue is not discussed at the CSTO's common platform since this organization is in the process of formation. Only when it has a clearly worked out agenda, the organization will be able to give answers to all questions. At the same time, the parliamentarian said, despite the fact that Azerbaijan is buying more types of weapons, the balance in this regard is not disrupted.
''Currently the issue is voiced constantly that the budget of Azerbaijan has more appropriations for armaments than ours. But you forget that their budget structure is somewhat different than ours. In the end, they finance the Caucasian fleet, which absolutely does not fit into the framework of the Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict. If we look at proportions, then I think the degree of controllability of our Armed Forces is increasing'', he concluded.
It should be noted that on November 5 the Plenary Session of the CSTO Parliamentary Assembly is held. In particular, they are attended by the Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan, Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Lower House of the Parliament of Tajikistan Shukurdzhon Zukhurov, Speaker of the Mazhilis of the Parliament of Kazakhstan Nurlan Nigmatulin, Speaker of the Parliament of Kyrgyzstan Dastan Dzhumabekov, Deputy Speaker of the Federation Council of the Russian Federation Yuri Vorobev. A visiting session of the PA CSTO is being held for the first time. As reported, the topics included in the agenda relate in particular to the security organization of the CSTO member states. As Vyacheslav Volodin previously noted, countries face common challenges that need to be addressed together. This, in particular, relates to the fight against international terrorism.