Month: December 2023

Greece and Armenia have signed a military cooperation agreement in the wake of much instability in the Europe and Middle East regions.

Greek Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias met with his Armenian counterpart, Suren Papikyan, during the latter’s visit to Athens on Thursday.

Following the meeting, Dendias took to X, formerly Twitter, to say that the military-technical field is a top priority for the Hellenic Government.

“Our meeting today coincides with a period of great tensions. The situation in Caucasus, the developments at the Ukrainian front, the Middle East, create many hotbeds of instability in the region,” he said.

Dendias noted that Greece maintains a solid view against the instability and supports “dialogue on the basis of the principles of the UN Charter and the International Law.”

“We support the recommencement of negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia with the participation of the European Union, so that conditions of peace and security for the peoples of the region can be achieved… We stand by the side of the Armenian people.”

Papikyan echoed Dendias, stating that this bilateral military cooperation has a rich history, based on traditionally friendly relations between the two peoples, mutual support readiness, and shared overall views.

Earlier this week, the Armenian Minster of Defence visited Cyprus, where met with President of the House of Representatives Annita Demetriou.

The focus of their discussion was on matters pertaining to Armenian-Cypriot relations and regional security.

On X, Papikyan shared that he visited the Tomb of Makedonitissa and laid a wreath at the memorial dedicated to Cypriot and Greek soldiers who have died for the defence of Cyprus.

Armenia has emerged as one of the biggest importers of Indian weapons. There have been reports that the country could acquire the Indian-built surface-to-air missile (SAM), Akash.

While no one confirms it officially because of the sensitivities involved, documents suggest that the order for the same has already been placed.

Akash is a short-range SAM system manufactured by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) to protect vulnerable areas and points from air attacks. According to the BDL website, the Akash Weapon System (AWS) can simultaneously engage Multiple Targets in Group Mode or Autonomous Mode. It has built-in Electronic Counter-Counter Measures (ECCM) features. The entire weapon system is put atop mobile platforms.

It can effectively engage helicopters, fighter jets, and UAVs flying in the range of 4-25 kilometers. It is fully automatic with quick response time from target detection to kill.

It is highly immune to active and passive jamming. It can be transported swiftly via rail or road and can be deployed quickly. The project has an overall indigenous content of 82 percent, which will be increased to 93 percent by 2026-27.

The ICICI Securities newsletter on mutual funds gives an insight into BDL’s order book. Talking about “expanding its footprints in export,” the newsletter says that BDL has the largest proportion of exports in its order book. “Management expects revenue from exports at 25 percent by 2027 and further orders for Akash SAMs, lightweight torpedoes, SAAW, Konkur (ATGMS), CMDS, and Astra missiles (BRAAM),” reads the newsletter.

The word “further” in the statement is being seen as implying that BDL has already received export orders for the Akash SAM system and Armenia is seen as the most probable destination of the export. It was reported in October 2022 that Armenia, engaged in a bloody conflict with Azerbaijan, has been interested in procuring drones, loitering munitions, and the Akash missile system from India.

The Indian Army has already inducted two regiments of Akash SAMs and has placed orders for two more.

With its ability to engage multiple targets and destroy maneuvering targets such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), cruise missiles, and missiles launched from choppers, Akash is ideally suited for Yerevan’s requirement to combat the armed drones deployed by Baku.

Yerevan has also signed an MoU with France to purchase the Mistral short-range air defense system. Armenia has also purchased indigenous Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles, and a wide variety of ammunition, including 80-mm mortars, to counter Azerbaijan.

The EurAsian Times has earlier reported that after importing rocket launchers and missiles from India, Armenia is now importing an anti-drone system.

Most of the defense deals with the Caucasian country have been kept under wraps, but the news about them trickles in from the mandatory annual statements or the minutes of the meetings of the companies concerned. For instance, the news about Zen Technologies opening a branch office in Armenia came to light when the minutes of a board meeting held on October 28, 2023, were released.

The Hyderabad-based Zen Technologies is supplying an anti-drone system worth US $ 41.5 million to Armenia. Zen Anti-Drone System, a Counter Unmanned Aerial System (CUAS), is a multi-layer multi-sensor architecture that provides comprehensive security against drone attacks.

Armenia has almost doubled its defense investments over the last year. In 2022, the spending was around US$700 million to US$800 million; now, in 2024, it will be US$1.4 billion or US $1.5 billion.

For some time now, Yerevan has sought to diversify its arms imports and find new allies after Russia failed to provide the country with ordered weapons worth around US$400 million (it has not yet returned the money).

The failed arms deal was an additional trigger in the worsening Russia-Armenia relations, which made Armenia seek to diversify the sources of its arms imports, looking at the West and India.

Apart from giving repeat orders to Indian defense firms, Armenia has been looking to refurbish its Russian and Soviet weapons. Armenia is keen to modernize its military arsenal, primarily of Soviet and Russian origin. The country wants to learn how to upgrade Soviet and Russian equipment in its inventory and integrate it with the Western system.

Russia remains embroiled in a war with Ukraine and is unable to meet its defense exports commitment to Armenia. The weapons exported by India have already been inducted by the Indian Armed forces, bearing testimony to their efficacy.

The chairman of Armenia’s parliamentary committee on defense and security affairs, Andranik Kocharyan, recently stated without naming India, that the weapons purchased by Armenia have proven to be “very satisfactory,”

“Our news media, our people are discussing all day long what weapons were brought, from what country, where it was tested. The relevant division of the defense ministry is also testing this weaponry, and the tests are very satisfactory,” said Kocharyan.

A top Armenian security official and Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan, visited New Delhi on August 28, 2023, to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval. In light of this, it is said that India is contemplating the supply of a fresh batch of military equipment to Armenia.

There have been murmurs about Armenia’s interest in the BrahMos cruise missiles and the Israeli-Indian co-developed medium-range surface-to-air missile (MRSAM).

In 2022, India stepped up as a defense supplier to Armenia, embroiled in a protracted conflict with Azerbaijan. The first consignment of weapons was delivered last year via Iran.

Earlier, in January 2023, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev called India’s supply of weapons to adversary Armenia an “unfriendly move,” adding: “If we are facing a serious threat, we will deal with that threat immediately, regardless of where that threat arises, within our territory or outside our borders. It is our legitimate right to do so.”

• Ritu Sharma has been a journalist for over a decade, writing on defense, foreign affairs, and nuclear technology.

On December 13 Armenia and Azerbaijan conducted a prisoner swap on the rival states' common border, with Armenia handing over two Azerbaijani captives in exchange for Azerbaijan releasing 32 Armenian prisoners. 

The handover had been announced in a surprise joint statement by the two countries' leaders six days earlier. That statement said the sides were resolved to "continue their discussions regarding the implementation of more confidence-building measures … and call on the international community to support their efforts that will contribute to building mutual trust between the two countries and will positively impact the entire South Caucasus region."

It also announced that Armenia would support Azerbaijan's ultimately successful bid to host next year's COP-29 climate conference. 

The two Azerbaijani soldiers released had crossed into Armenia in April. One of them was convicted of murdering a security guard at a copper-molybdenum mine in southern Armenia and had been serving a life sentence in prison.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan posted the names of the freed prisoners on Facebook hours before they arrived in Armenia. The prisoners were mostly from the north-western Shirak region. While there is no information about when and where the released soldiers were captured, 57 soldiers, mainly from the Shirak region, were taken captive from the Hadrut region of Nagorno-Karabakh about a month after the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in late 2020. Some of them had been released earlier through Russian and Western mediation at different times.  

The joint statement between the countries was the first of its kind not to bear the signature of any mediators. Though there was speculation about behind-the-scenes mediation, possibly by a top U.S. diplomat who visited Baku the day before the statement was issued. 

Until now, all statements and agreements reached had been mediated by Russia, the EU, or the U.S., and, in one case, Georgia. 

Russia and the West have praised the bilateral deal, with the US calling it an "important confidence-building measure" as the "sides work to finalize a peace agreement and normalize relations." EU Council president Charles Michel called it a "major breakthrough in Armenia-Azerbaijan relations," and the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the agreement was in line with Russia-mediated agreements since 2020 to "further" the relations between the two countries. 

Amid the excitement in the international community, the chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, Sargis Khandanyan, urged caution. The statement's importance should not be "overestimated," as no understanding has been reached on the future of the bilateral format beyond the one-off prisoner swap deal. 

According to Armenian human rights defenders, there are still 23 Armenians in Azerbaijani captivity, including high-ranking military officers and politicians from Karabakh. 

The issue of the Armenian prisoners has been a heated one in the peace talks between the two countries that followed the 2020 war, with Azerbaijan refusing to acknowledge some of its detentions. 

The issue gained importance with Azerbaijan's capture of eight former high-ranking officials of the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The detainees include the NKR's last three presidents and the region's former state minister, Russian-Armenian billionaire Ruben Vardanyan. They face charges including terrorism. None of their trials has begun yet.

Yerevan has for the most part not been using public channels to call for their release. 

The talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan have largely been at a standstill in the past months, particularly after Azerbaijan's military conquest of Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in the displacement of the region's Armenian population and the dissolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Yerevan and Baku have failed to meet on several occasions since September, with Yerevan pulling out of Moscow-led talks and Baku refusing to participate in the EU and U.S.-mediated meetings. 

While the first bilateral statement was a milestone, the future of the peace talks – either with or without mediators – remains unclear. Both countries had previously expressed hopes of signing the deal by the end of this year. Armenian PM Pashinyan said that the peace deal's "main principles" had been agreed upon while Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said he needs firmer guarantees that Armenia won't embark on "revanchism." 

The sides still have to agree on the details of the demarcation of common borders and the opening of transport links, particularly the "Zangezur corridor" sought by Azerbaijan. Baku would like to see a corridor overseen by Russian troops running through Armenia connecting mainland Azerbaijan with the Nakhchivan exclave while Armenia envisages a simple road link with the usual customs and border checks.