Baku, Azerbaijan, Nov. 17
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva – Trend:
A long-lasting intrigue related to appearance of the Iskander missile systems in Armenia was revealed by the country’s President Serzh Sargsyan.
In an interview with RIA Novosti news agency, Sargsyan admitted that the deployment of Russian Iskander missile systems in the Armenian territory was a necessary measure aimed at preserving stability in the region.
The word “deployment” has finally explained why these missile systems appeared on a military parade in Armenia. Russia simply deployed the missile systems on the base in Gyumri city but didn’t sell or grant them to Armenia. In his interview, Sargsyan confessed that Armenia would simply be financially unable to purchase the Iskander missile systems.
“It is no secret that Azerbaijan has been regularly purchasing the latest weapons over the last few years,” President Sargsyan said in an interview with Dmitry Kiselyov, director general of Russia Today news agency.
“We do not have such opportunities as Azerbaijan. I mean financial resources, but we are always trying to balance the situation, by finding the antidote. I think that in this case, Iskander missiles are such an antidote."
Here Sargsyan was cunning. Russia’s Iskander missiles, located on the territory of Armenia, do not impact on the balance of power in the region.
Yerevan can not use those missiles. Azerbaijan understands that in case of the operation to liberate the country’s territories occupied by Armenia and within the international law, the Russian armed forces will do nothing to stop the operation.
However, Russian Iskander missiles are as sedative for the Armenians, living in the country, as they give at least an illusion of protection.
However, only the most dimwitted Armenian inhabitant can be deceived like that, because a person, versed in the state affairs, understands that Iskander missile systems, which were given to Yerevan to be used for one day, can’t protect the occupation regime of Sargsyan from the fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Another question is that why there was this ridiculous intrigue, if Moscow eventually forced Sargsyan to admit, who mysteriously has been keeping silence for two months after the parade and strongly supporting the rumors about the purchase of Iskander systems by Armenia that Iskander systems haven’t been sold and are on the balance of the Russian armed forces, is not clear. This farce only provoked new tensions in already difficult process of negotiations over the Nagorno-Karabakh. However, it is also possible that it was the ultimate goal of the show called "Iskander in Armenia.”
Elmira Tariverdiyeva is the head of Trend Agency’s Russian news service