Armenia`s ex-president concerned over lack of foreign investments in  Armenia 

ArmInfo.  Today there is a danger of Azerbaijan capturing Syunik and part of Lake Sevan. This was stated by the second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan at a meeting with students and teachers of the "Armenian University"

"We live in a rather complicated region, and I am simply convinced  that in this region either you have to be a factor, or, as the  English say, if you are not at the table, then you are on the menu.  Now we will either be on the menu or become a factor. To be  effective, we need a combat-ready army. To have a combat-ready army,  we also need military-political allies; we are not China or Russia.  These problems need to be solved very quickly. If we do not restore  this, then we will end up on the menu of this region," Kocharyan  noted.

According to the second president of Armenia, any unstable situation  in this region will create big risks for Armenia, very big risks, and  the temptation to take Syunik will be very great for Azerbaijan. "And  such a danger exists. Both in relation to Syunik and in relation to  part of Sevan. Do we want this? During the 2021 elections, I was  often asked: "How many years will it take to restore the army?" I  answered: 3-5 years, 4 of which have already passed. Is something  happening? I don't see it. When they tell me that they are buying  artillery or some missiles from India, I wonder: how will they be  supplied with ammunition? They buy what they cannot deliver. How?  Something from here, something from there, something from somewhere  else. If you remember, there were public accusations that weapons  from the 80s were used in the war. Look at the war in Ukraine. The  weapons of the 60s, 70s and 80s are certainly the most reliable. In  this war, we were defeated by the Bayraktars. In Ukraine, all the  Bayraktars were shot down and destroyed within two weeks by the same  Russian means. "Air defense," the politician noted.

Kocharyan believes that the Armenian side should have resolved and  completed the issue with the Bayraktars within the first two weeks,  but instead carried out a strawberry reform. "The air defense system  did not work. Why did they not block all the air? Because they  changed the air defense procurement plan, bought SUs that they did  not use at all, but in front of them they took good selfies. Should  we talk about this now or not? Now they buy 185-mm artillery guns,  the shell of which costs 4000-5000 dollars. At some point, the price  jumped to 7000-8000. The cheapest ones cost 3000. How do you imagine  how much you will have to bring and how you will bring it then? There  is no way to bring it. People sometimes do things that sometimes make  you wonder: what are they thinking and do they have the ability to  think? Then how are you going to solve these issues: sometimes with  India, sometimes with France? Honestly, I do not understand how these  weapons will be serviced," he continued.

Speaking about a combat-ready army, a military-political ally with  whom relations need to be established, and the level of economic  development, Kocharyan noted that he is concerned that in recent  years, Armenia has received virtually no foreign investment.

"What is the reason? They opened many factories, but none of them  worked. It turned out that they did not exist. They just wanted to  open something for PR, to take pictures, but nothing came of it. Now  we are becoming a purely service country, only with a service sector.  This service sector also has a limit, we have no sea. No steps have  been taken to develop industrial capabilities. This needs to be  changed. I cannot even say that the first step that should be taken  is the security issue. If security issues are not resolved, all other  issues will become risky," Kocharyan concluded.