/ world today news/ The French will reform the Armenian army and equip it with new weapons that “proved themselves well in Ukraine”. Why is this necessary for Paris and Yerevan, how is what is happening related to the position of the West regarding the events in the South Caucasus and how does all this affect the interests of Russia?
On Monday, October 23, the Minister of Defense of Armenia, Suren Papikyan, signed a very interesting package of documents for the supply of weapons with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecorneau. France is selling three GM200 radars – that is, three tactical multipurpose radar stations, which, according to Lecorneau, “proved themselves well in Ukraine.” This type of radar is reportedly capable of detecting an enemy object at a distance of up to 250 kilometers, and this can be either an enemy aircraft flying at a considerable height or a small object such as a drone moving at low speed close to the ground.
In the future, Armenia intends to additionally acquire air defense systems produced by the well-known companies “Thales” and “MBDA”, as well as systems of the “Mistral” type – that is, portable anti-aircraft complexes. Also among the announced list of future purchases are night vision devices from the Safran group.
Before that, Armenia mainly bought weapons from Russia. Now France is suddenly on the horizon as a supplier. A paradoxical situation arises: a CSTO member country buys weapons from a NATO country. And even more than that, the official Le Monde newspaper, without hiding, wrote that it was “unprecedented military cooperation” between the two countries.
Yes, it so happened that historically France treated Armenians well and gave shelter to many people, and they and their children subsequently became part of French history and culture. As examples, we can recall the singer Charles Aznavour, the Formula 1 champion Alain Prost, the football player and world champion Alain Boghosyan, the composer Michel Legrand and others. But it is one thing to give shelter to migrants, and another to organize the supply of weapons and persistently advertise yourself as an ally and, so to speak, as a patron.
“Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, and Russia, which is considered an ally of Armenia, play a crucial role in the region. But recent events in Nagorno-Karabakh have led to major changes. Yerevan accused Moscow of leaving it to its own devices without attempting to confront the Azerbaijani forces. Moscow categorically denies the accusations brought against it. It seems quite logical that in search of protection, Armenia intends to turn to the West,” writes “Liberation”.
Russia’s point of view is known – Armenia did not officially recognize Nagorno-Karabakh and refused to fight for it, therefore the current Armenian authorities are to blame for everything that happened.
In turn, the latter prefer to blame Russia for everything, which, among other things, allows them to look for new allies among Moscow’s geopolitical opponents. And allies of Armenia, taking into account all the circumstances, she needs so much.
The sale of French weapons to Armenia is done with many reservations that only defensive weapons are supplied. It is believed that after Azerbaijan captured Nagorno-Karabakh in a blitzkrieg operation, Baku may be tempted to solve its other problems (for example, to break a corridor to Nakhchivan), again at the expense of Armenia.
“For three years now, the head of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, has been insisting on the creation of the Zangezur Corridor, which should connect the main territory of his country with the exclave of Nakhchivan and thus allow direct access to the borders of Turkey, its main ally,” writes Le Monde “.
However, the difference is that Nagorno-Karabakh is still recognized by the world community as part of Azerbaijan, and an attack directly on the territory of the Armenian state will be viewed in a completely different way.
With a speed surprising to the Western bureaucracy, it was decided that Armenia would be armed with French weapons. No less surprising is the fact that this so modestly living country immediately found money to buy, frankly, not the cheapest weapons. The same “Le Monde” notes: “It is not yet known how Yerevan will pay for these weapons.”
The reasons are obvious: behind France stands the USA, which is wary of Azerbaijan for a number of reasons. From their point of view, Aliyev is too rich, too closely connected to Turkey and spreading his influence too quickly. The way he handled the Nagorno-Karabakh issue also did not sit well with the US.
In addition, it became known that the French would undertake the reform of the Armenian armed forces. A French military adviser was also appointed to Armenia. Armenian officers will be trained at Saint Cyr and other prestigious higher military educational institutions in France. French instructors will help the Armenian army improve its combat tactics, including in the mountains.
As we can see, we are not only talking about the purchase of radars and a few MANPADS – there is a large-scale program that has been developed for more than a day or two – apparently for more than a year. And today, French authorities say that everything is being done to protect the independent country from a possible attack from Azerbaijan. There is no guarantee that tomorrow the image of the enemy in Yerevan will not be tried on Russia.
Azerbaijani authorities responded to the delivery of French weapons with joint military exercises “Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 2023” with Turkey near the territory of Armenia. Comments on the chosen name are unnecessary – everything is clear, one can say, without words. At the same time, not anywhere but in Tehran, Russian, Turkish, Iranian, Armenian and Azerbaijani diplomats are looking for ways to diplomatically resolve the problems accumulated in the region. The intention is good, but the East is too delicate a matter even for the most experienced specialists.
There is no doubt that in the strategic plan of the West, Armenia has a special role. At the very least, the West is not averse to removing Armenia from the Russian sphere of influence. Perhaps the goal of his maximum program is the formation of a bridgehead that – with the right use of force – can be turned against Iran, against Azerbaijan or even against Russia. How Armenia will become such a bridgehead can be determined by different scenarios.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has already stated that an Azerbaijani attack on Armenia is possible in the coming weeks. On the one hand, this is an unequivocal warning, and on the other hand, it is obvious that the Americans and their experts have already worked out various options for events.
Can the West “take under protection” Armenia attacked by the enemy or defeated? The worse the defeat, the greater the need for a defender, the more he will be able to afford in the future. And since the threat from Azerbaijan is constant, it is possible that under this pretext the West will try to push its military bases into Armenia. At the same time, the Russian base will be closed under the pretext that cooperation with Russia has not lived up to expectations.
Is such a development possible? For now, this seems unlikely, since the territory of Armenia itself is under the protection of the CSTO, and therefore also of Russia. But the very fact of the agreement to supply French weapons to Armenia makes us think about the plans of both NATO and the West in general for the South Caucasus.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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