After repeated delays, Russia has delivered to Armenia the first batch of weapons envisaged by bilateral defense contracts signed after the 2020 war in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), according to senior Armenian MPs.
Armenia’s PM Pashinyan and his political allies have repeatedly complained about those delays amid Armenia’s worsening relations with Russia. Deputy Defense Minister Hrachya Sargsyan said in early December that Yerevan paid Russia’s state-owned arms manufacturers $400 million but has still not received any military equipment so far. He, too, declined to specify the types of weaponry listed in those contracts.
Andranik Kocharyan, the chairman of Armenia’s Parliament Committee on Defense and Security, said late last week that some of those weapons had been delivered to Armenia. He said, “[The Russians] are giving us something, not on a scale anticipated by us in line with the volume of the signed contracts,” adding, “but I’m sure that things will be sorted out.”
Gurgen Melkonyan, a pro-government MP, confirmed the first “recently” delivered Russian weapons. He claimed to be unaware of what exactly was supplied to Armenia’s Army. The Defense Ministry also did not shed light on that, reports Azatutyun.
Russia’s Ambassador to Armenia, Sergei Kopyrkin, acknowledged “issues” in implementing Russia-Armenia arms deals late last month. He implied that Russian defense companies have not fulfilled their contractual obligations on time because of having to manufacture more weapons for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“But these are working issues that are resolved in the dialogue between relevant agencies of Russia and Armenia,” said Kopyrkin, adding that the two sides are now also “discussing new agreements in the field of military-technical cooperation,” without elaborating.
Russia has long been Armenia’s main supplier of weapons and ammunition. Recently, Armenia’s Government has been looking for other arms suppliers, and since September 2022, it has signed several defense contracts with India worth at least $400 million. In October 2023, it also signed two arms deals with France.
