Exclusive Interview of the First Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Davit Tonoyan to Mediamax Agency

- On July 18-21, the delegation headed by you took part in Armenian-U.S. defense consultations in Washington D.C., during which the sides agreed to expand the spheres of cooperation. Tell us about these spheres, please.

- During the recent consultations we mainly focused on Armenian defense reforms and development of Armenian Armed Forces, aiming to clarify with our American colleagues the USA’s possible assistance to these processes. We particularly discussed defense policy of the Republic of Armenia, the implementation of plans aimed at the development of Armenian Armed Forces based on the results of Armenia’s Strategic Defense Review (SDR), human resource management, professional military education, development of professional NCO corps, export control of military goods, issues related to humanitarian demining, as well as some programs of public and cultural interest.

Besides, we also touched upon such issues as the effective use of the assistance rendered by the United States and US capabilities in the development of Armenian peacekeeping capabilities, including the organization of both bilateral and multilateral combined exercises.

- Where, when and in what framework will the exercises be held?

- It has been already 10 years that the Armenian and the U.S. military have been conducting combined military exercises in the spheres of peacekeeping, communications, military medicine and emergency response. Small-scale training activities have been also held. We should also keep in mind the combined activities and liaison of Armenian and U.S. military during the operations in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

However, all this was done mainly on multilateral basis, through multinational operations and exercises. As for the possibility of holding bilateral Armenian-U.S. exercise, yes, this issue has been discussed. However, taking into consideration the fact that NATO/PfP Live and Command Post Exercises have been restored since this year, the urgency of holding bilateral Armenian-U.S. exercise for training purposes of our peacekeepers decreases, but the issue remains on the agenda of further Armenian-U.S. consultations.

The Armenian Ministry of Defense has big experience in organizing and holding multilateral exercises.

- Can we say that the Armenian-U.S. defense cooperation is moving from the incipient stage to comprehensive cooperation?

- The Armenian-U.S. defense cooperation has indeed grown impressively over last years. Among the achievements of Armenian-U.S. defense cooperation in 2010-2011 we can mention the process of SDR and the beginning of implementation of the development plan worked out as a result of the SDR as well as the three-fold expansion of the Armenian contingent participating in ISAF mission, taking into account the fact that the Armenian military who have been trained with the U.S. assistance forms the contingents participating in international peacekeeping operations.

- The session of the North Atlantic Council in 28+1 format (NATO members +Armenia) was held in Brussels on July 27, as a result of which the renewed Individual Partnership Action Plan was discussed. Receiving the Special Representative of NATO Secretary General in Yerevan in late June, Armenian President expressed the hope that the renewed IPAP will allow bringing the cooperation to a new quality level. Which are the main changes of IPAP for the Armenian Defense Ministry?

-  Let me clarify that the session attended by the Armenian Ministers of Defense and Foreign Affairs, focused not on the renewed IPAP but on the Assessment Report of the previous IPAP, which gives grounds to launch the process of approval of the renewed IPAP. I think it will be approved by the end of this year when all NATO allies approve the renewed IPAP worked out by joint efforts of experts from Armenia and NATO International Staff.

As for the content of the new IPAP, its biggest and principal difference is that the previous ones were mainly directed to the conduct of the SDR process, whereas the new program mainly aims at the realization of results of the Review.

Besides, together with previous spheres the new IPAP includes such areas as the study of capabilities for improving battle training programs for various types of Armenian Armed Forces, cooperation in military-industrial sphere, as well as the study of NATO member states’ armament and military equipment the codification and standardization system aimed at the development of future defense industrial cooperation with them.

- During meetings in USA and Brussels you have discussed the issue of improving the peacekeeping capabilities of the Armenian Peacekeeping Forces.  At what stage of readiness are our peacekeepers today and what are the problems that still need to be solved?

- Today, the 12th peacekeeping brigade of the Armenian Armed Forces has two fully equipped infantry battalions and can provide about two companies for operations by rotation principle. Today, on the whole 161 servicemen of the brigade are permanently deployed in the theatres of multinational operations: 126 in Afghanistan, and 35 - in Kosovo. The third battalion of the brigade is being formed now.

Within the framework of developing the brigade (the process will be completed in 2015), we focus our efforts on the development of its logistics capabilities and equipment. In this process not secondary attention is paid also to the constant training, re-training and eventual assessment of the brigade’s manpower. 

An engineer battalion has recently joined Armenian peacekeeping forces, which was also declared in the PfP pool of forces in the framework of Operational Capabilities Concept, so we are planning to carry out combat readiness evaluations for this unit as well.

- You have recently met with your Russian colleagues. Unlike the Armenian-U.S. military ties, the Armenian-Russian defense cooperation has a rich history and the sides seem to understand each other better. What issues have been discussed in Moscow?

- The Armenian-Russian defense cooperation has indeed a rich history and traditions and involves wider spectrum of defense cooperation than with other countries.

While in Moscow I have hold meetings with CSTO Secretariat’s leadership and my colleagues from the Russian Defense Ministry. During my meetings in CSTO we discussed a number of issues such as: the establishment of organization’s Military Committee, improvement of Combined Joint Staff activities, as well as the involvement of observers from various international organizations and countries in future military exercises to be carried out with the framework CSTO Rapid Reaction Collective Forces and Armenian-Russian Combined Task Force, which will ensure necessary transparency and will be considered as a confidence building measure in the region thus reinforcing the image of the CSTO as an organization ensuring the regional security.

As for the meetings with our colleagues from the Russian Defense Ministry, they were devoted to the discussion of such issues as the coordination of Armenian and Russian defense ministries’ positions on the future of international arms control arrangements, regional security, optimization of the Russian 102nd military base in Armenia and re-deployment and modernization of its units.

- There is an opinion that Russia attaches rather “symbolic” than combative importance to its military base in Armenia. What can you say in this regard? I suppose the issue of the base has also been discussed.

- I think this is the case when we shouldn’t seek for some hidden or other meanings. The presence of the Russian military base in Armenia has always been conditioned by the political-military interests of the two countries. According to the agreement on the extension of terms of deployment of the Russian military base in Armenia signed last year, the 102nd base also undertook the commitment to support Armenia’s security. Thus, it’s not a secret that the Russian military base is the indivisible part of Armenia’s security system, which is set in a number of conceptual documents of the Republic of Armenia such as the National Security Strategy, Military Doctrine.

- The Russian Defense Minister has recently visited Azerbaijan to discuss the future of Gabala Station. Does Armenia have a position about the operation of the station and possible change of its status?

- The exploitation of Gabala radiolocation station has a definite importance for the Russian Federation. During the Soviet times it was part of the missile defense system and now it allows Russian Armed Forces to control the air picture in the region and prevent missile attacks. Taking into account the Armenian-Russian allied ties, we don’t consider the exploitation of Gabala base by Russia as running counter to Armenia’s security interests. On the contrary, I believe the more our strategic ally and other partner states get involved in the security and, why not, in the military spheres of our neighboring country, the more it will facilitate the security of the entire region.