ArmInfo.Former Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, member of the Republican Party Eduard Sharmazanov voiced the probable reasons for Yerevan's refusal to accept the CSTO exercises.
Thus, the politician did not rule out the fact that Russia intended to send means to Armenia and not leave the country's territory after the end of the CSTO exercises, preventing a new Turkish-Azerbaijani attack.
"But Nikol, at the instigation of the Turkey and NATO, canceled the CSTO exercises in Armenia and, like a Trojan horse, cleared the way for the implementation of the Turkish-Azerbaijani program. How politically incompetent should a person be to say that the Russian military presence poses a threat to Armenia," Sharmazanov said.
At the same time, the politician noted that if it were not for Russia, Turkey would have invaded Armenia in May 1992 and October 1993 (the first president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, wrote a letter to the head of Turkey, warning about the consequences in case of intervention in the conflict - ed. note).
"If it weren't for Russia's help, we would hardly have defeated the Azerbaijanis. If there hadn't been Russia in the fall of 2020, you would have given Artsakh to Azerbaijan long ago.
This thesis of Nikol is a Turkish thesis, according to which, allegedly "if Russia had not come to the Caucasus, there would have been no Armenian genocide."
If not for Russia, it would have been difficult to restore Armenian statehood at the beginning of the 20th century. It should be noted that today, during a press conference, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that Yerevan does not consider it expedient to conduct CSTO exercises in the republic in 2023 under "these conditions." According to the prime minister, there is some misunderstanding on this issue, since the Armenian defense minister has already informed the CSTO Joint Headquarters that the Armenian side does not consider it expedient to conduct exercises this year in Armenia. "These exercises, at least this year, will not take place," Pashinyan said. Moreover, the Prime Minister also assured that Azerbaijan and the West consider Russia in Armenia as a threat, against the background of the processes around Ukraine. We add that the Kremlin has already reacted to Pashinyan's statement regarding the CSTO, noting that Moscow will clarify this issue. We also add that at the end of December, the then CSTO Secretary General Stanislav Zas, during the final press conference to clarify what the draft decision on measures of assistance to Armenia will be and whether there is an intention to provide military-technical assistance to Armenia, Zas said that he would not detail it, because the project decisions submitted to heads of state are confidential.
"But, there really was a point in draft decision that assumed the provision of military-technical assistance. Although there was no definite list, during the CSTO mission to the border, a request was received from Armenia for the necessary equipment and weapons," he said, once again emphasizing that the package assistance provided for military-technical assistance.
"But this does not mean that tomorrow, after the signing of the document, a plane with the weapons necessary for Armenia would fly in. But this would enable the Ministries of Defense to work according to this list and implement it if the heads of state approve. Moreover, at different levels, partly as aid, partly at domestic prices," explained the CSTO General Secretary.