Weapons purchased by Armenia not against third countries - minister  

ArmInfo. Today, Armenia's priority is to modernize its own armed forces, Armenia's Defense  Minister Suren Papikyan stated on February 23 at a joint press conference with the Minister of the French Armed Forces Sebastian Lecornu, in response to the question as to whether Armenia is capable of independently acquiring weapons for defense, or whether it needs financial assistance from Europe, taking into account the threats posed by from Azerbaijan.

"This assumes that we have the need to provide these needs with our  own funds. But, of course, the help of our partners, including from  Europe, would only help us. We are also talking about the opportunity  to use tools to ensure peace. Our approach is as follows : all steps  of the Republic of Armenia are aimed at protecting its own  sovereignty and security. All weapons acquired by Armenia are not  aimed at committing aggression against anyone. But, I also cannot  deny the fact of the presence of threats, which is manifested in  rhetoric and our task is to ensure territorial the integrity and  sovereignty of our country," Papikyan noted.

At the same time, he emphasized that regardless of what the security  environment around Armenia will be after the conclusion of a peace  treaty with Azerbaijan, the Armenian army will continue to acquire  defense weapons, and the agreements signed today with France are  about this.