Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

On July 2, the Armenian parliament ratified a loan agreement with Russia for the purchase of Russian weapons.

While military acquisitions are usually accepted as a routine measure to ensure security, these developments are troublesome with respect to Armenia.

These concerns come as Armenia occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territories and frequently violated the ceasefire regime.

An agreement ‘On granting state export credit to the Armenian government’ was signed in Yerevan on June 26 by the governments of Armenia and Russia.

Armenian media reported that credit provided on concessional terms, will be directed at the purchase of new Russian weapons at domestic Russian prices.

The credit is granted in the amount of $200 million with a grace period (interest-only) of 3 years and with a repayment term for the principal amount in 10 years.

The Armenian officials seem extremely overjoyed with the Russian loan. They claim that until today, they have acquired no such technology as that which will be purchased under the Armenian-Russian agreement.

Armenian officials believe that the sale is just as important for the country’s domestic security as it is for ensuring regional stability.

However, Armenia is the main source of destabilization in the region, hindering the development of the South Caucasus region for years.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor, causing a lengthy war in the early 1990s.

Despite the call by the international community, Armenia has over two decades kept the Azerbaijani territories under occupation.

Moreover, while Armenia purchases new military equipment and weapons and attempts to reach Azerbaijan’s military power, it must remember that it is not Azerbaijan or any other developed country. It is a country where 32 percent of the population lives in poverty, with about five billion dollars in external debt, and a diminishing budget year by year.

Therefore, it would be better for Armenia to direct loans and investments to improve its economic situation rather than frivolously spending the money on its military.

Recently, the International Monetary Fund predicted zero economic growth in Armenia. It also does not foresee any significant improvement in the economy for 2016.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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