During Serzh Sargsyan's Time, We Were Given 'Iskanders', We Were Happy – They Were Ordinary Shells, Melkonyan Says

We are a member of the CSTO, but the CSTO, led by Russia, does not provide us with any weapons, despite the fact that we have paid in advance. This was stated by Gagik Melkonyan, a member of the National Assembly from the 'Civil Contract' faction, in an interview with NEWS.am.

“Now they are not returning those funds either. On the other hand, Russia is also an ally of Baku, and I believe it has an agreement with Baku to not supply weapons to Armenia,” he noted.

Referring to the issue that Russia previously supplied weapons to Armenia, the MP said, “We had a disgraceful contract that stipulated we could only purchase weapons from Russia. Russia provided us with old weapons and outdated technology. Between 2002 and 2004, when I was in service, we received the equipment, repaired it, and then paid again for the repairs, bringing the refurbished equipment back. In recent years, they have not supplied anything at all. During Serzh Sargsyan's time, we were given 'Iskanders'; we were happy, but then we were convinced that those 'Iskanders' were not 'Iskanders' at all. They were ordinary shells. I am convinced that there was also an agreement with the Azerbaijanis saying, ‘Do not be afraid of the 'Iskanders', that issue is resolved,’” the MP emphasized.