Pashinyan criticizes Armenia's foreign security systems as inefficient

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
24 Sep 2023 15:29

The country's premier emphasized the need to amend and enhance both domestic and international security measures for Armenia in order to safeguard its independence and sovereignty.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan leads a cabinet meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, on Sept. 22, 2023. (AP)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday characterized the existing foreign security systems of his country as "ineffective."

"The systems of external security in which Armenia is involved are ineffective when it comes to the protection of our security and Armenia's national interests," Pashinyan said in a televised speech broadcasted several days following Azerbaijan's decisive triumph in the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Pashinyan emphasized the need to amend and enhance both domestic and international security measures for Armenia in order to safeguard its independence and sovereignty.

"We call on the international community to express unconditional support for Armenia's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and democracy," Pashinyan said.

"We will take all actions to protect independence. In this regard, it is necessary to transform, supplement, and enrich Armenia’s external and internal security instruments, cooperating with all partners who are ready to take mutually beneficial steps," the premier said in an address to the nation.

He additionally called upon all parties to honor the Armenian people's aspiration for a self-governing nation.

Azerbaijan initiated a military operation in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 19, with the announced goal of "restoring constitutional order." Baku further stated that Azerbaijani forces only attacked Armenian military facilities in the region.

Yerevan characterized the operation as hostile and underlined that there was no military presence in the disputed zone. Armenian state media reported numerous civilian casualties as a result of Azerbaijani airstrikes.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that Azerbaijan and representatives of Nagorno-Karabakh's Armenian people had reached an agreement to end hostilities through the mediation of Russian peacekeepers.

According to the defense ministry, military groups in the region have begun to relinquish their weapons and equipment under the supervision of Russian peacekeepers, in accordance with the agreement.