Armenian Defense Minister Welcomes Russian Peacekeepers; Says Armenia Faced Arms Blockade
Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, who was surprisingly absent from public view during the recent war in Artsakh, today appeared on Armenian Public TV and said that the decision to end the fighting by signing a statement to hand over certain territories to Azerbaijan was the result of serious analysis of the situation on the battlefield.
Tonoyan said that Armenia was under a total blockade in terms of getting new arms shipments and that Azerbaijan had a major advantage in terms of armament.
He said that the mobilization of the armed forces was carried out to the maximum and that the Artsakh Defense Army resisted a much greater and better equipped forces consisting of Azerbaijani, Turkish and mercenary combatants.
Tonoyan said that Russian peacekeepers are already being deployed to Artsakh via Armenia through the Lachin corridor.
“Today's agreement was the maximum that could be had. In terms of deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces, this was the best option, which was developed in a short period of time. This document is more about the deployment of peacekeeping forces, and we are grateful to Russia for providing that support," said Tonoyan.
The minister said that “the maximum had been done”, while confessing that Azerbaijani enjoyed air superiority and Armenian forces were handicapped with out-of-date arms in response.
He added that Turkey was able to quickly ship arms to Azerbaijan.
Speaking about the fighting in and around Shushi, Tonoyan said that the events there developed very dynamically. The city was besieged, but the heroic battle continued
He said that military operations were successful, and Armenian forces remained in Shushi until the last day, but their numbers weren’t sufficient to regain full control.
Tonoyan also rejected the criticism that the Ministry of Defense did not fully explain daily battlefield developments to the public during the war.
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