Georgian Parliament’s Decision Won’t Affect Armenian Army’s Combat Readiness

RA Ministry of Defense press secretary David Karapetyan has been fairly tight-lipped regarding a Georgian parliamentary decision to terminate an agreement with Russia in allowing the latter’s military personnel and cargo to get to its base in Armenia through Georgia’s land and air space.

Asked by local news site News.am whether Georgia’s decision will affect the combat readiness of Armenia’s armed forces and the supply of military cargo, Karapetyan said the decision will not affect the combat readiness of the Armenian armed forces, Karapetyan told News.am.

“I will decline comments on Georgian Parliament’s decision. As regards the supply of military cargo, I would like to mention this decision would not affect Armenia’s security and armed forces’ combat efficiency in any way,” he emphasized.

Leading Russian military analyst Alexander Goltz, commenting on Georgia’s decision in an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service, said, “It’s obvious that the purpose of this move is to complicate the transfer of military personnel and cargo to Gyumri. Allow me to recall that that the Russian army is supplemented on the basis of recruitment. This means that every 6 months there’s a change in personnel in Gyumri. When that becomes impossible, the military base stand before serious complications.”

In Goltz’ opinion, however, Russia has a number of other alternative options which will allow it to supply its base in Gyumri without interruption.