Russia’s old friend made a big betrayal in difficult times! Putin’s shock, Armenia will now buy arms from France and India

In recent weeks, Armenia has ordered air-defense systems and radars from France and reportedly anti-drone systems from India. from armenia The orders come amid rising tensions with neighboring Azerbaijan. from azerbaijani Armenia has fought several conflicts along the way, including a minor clash in September that ended with Azerbaijan conquering the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, causing its 120,000 ethnic Armenian residents to flee.

Armenia distances itself from old friend Russia!

The acquisitions are notable not only for their timing, but also because they show that Armenia is taking concrete steps to reduce its dependence on military hardware from Russia, a longtime ally that has responded to increasing pressure from Azerbaijan. Has offered very little support to Yerevan.

Armenia is strengthening something against Azerbaijan

Armenia’s six-week war with Azerbaijan in 2020 drew worldwide attention to Azerbaijan’s use of aerial drones. At a press conference to announce the sale in October, France’s defense minister said that air defense was “absolutely vital” and that Paris was close to an agreement on the sale of three Thales GM 200 radars and the future delivery of short-range Mistral air defenses. Was also helping Yerevan.

Armenia’s choice to order air-defense systems from France is an important one, James Rogers, an expert on drones and precision warfare, told Business Insider. This not only highlights to Russia that Armenia has options when it comes to defense cooperation, but it is a major leap forward in Armenia’s efforts to modernize its military.

Will buy weapons from India and France

Reports in early November also indicated that Yerevan was purchasing more weapons from India, including the Zen anti-drone system, which is designed to detect and shoot down enemy drones. Armenia had earlier purchased four Indian-made Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers in 2022, the first foreign order for that system. Nicholas Heras, senior director of strategy and innovation at the New Lines Institute, told Business Insider that Armenia is pursuing its foreign and national-security policies on two tracks.

“One track is to build defense alliances with more powerful external actors in Eurasia, and the other track is to improve the ability of the Armenian military to defend against Azeri airpower in strategic engagements,” Heras said. “India, in particular, is a prized defense partner with Armenia because India has a large defense industry that can equip and improve even the Russian weapons platforms deployed by Armenia.”

Armenia distanced itself from Russian weapons and Putin, why?

Armenia’s military arsenal has long been predominantly Russian, but Yerevan has attempted to change this as its relations with Moscow have soured, particularly after its devastating defeat in the 2020 war, during which Azerbaijan Israeli and Turkish manufactured weapons were used.

Russia has failed to assist Armenia despite Yerevan’s membership in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organization. In addition to being tied to the war in Ukraine, Russia is likely troubled by Armenia’s move closer to Washington and the West under Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who has long questioned the value of CSTO membership.

“Armenia’s partnership with Russia is at rock bottom, and Pashinyan is moving slowly but surely to bring Armenia closer to NATO,” Heras said, including normalizing Armenia’s relations with Turkey. The possibility is also involved.” Over the past two years, Heras said, the US has been sending “a strong signal” that it wants to “test the possibility of a more strategic US-Armenian security relationship.”

Washington and Yerevan appeared to demonstrate mutual interest in closer defense ties in September, when Armenia hosted a bilateral exercise focused on training for peacekeeping operations.

85 U.S. troops trained alongside 175 Armenian personnel during the exercise, which “is a testament to our long-standing partnership with Armenia and builds on decades of successful peacekeeping and security cooperation,” the U.S. Embassy in Armenia said in a statement. “

As expected, Russia opposed the exercise and Yerevan has since maintained distance from it. Pashinyan skipped the organization’s summit in mid-November, with Russia accusing the West of a conspiracy.

Under Pashinyan, Armenia has tried to move away from Russia “by building a web of strategic partnerships,” Heras said. “Fundamentally, Pashinyan does not want to depend on Russia to ensure Armenia’s territorial integrity and security, and his efforts to build ties with the United States work toward this goal.”

Acquiring weapons from other countries serves a similar purpose, but Armenia’s recent purchases also reflect the sensitivity of its international position.

The Mistral missile has a relatively short range of 4 miles, suggesting that the sale was intended to strengthen Armenia’s arsenal, but with potential political backlash in mind. Turkey has criticized French arms sales to Yerevan. (Azerbaijan has also criticized recent French and Indian arms sales to Armenia.) “Range is critical in warfare” and enables attacks on a wide range of targets, Rogers said. “In order not to destabilize the region or risk the outbreak of hostilities, Armenia and France have agreed on these short-range but effective air-defense systems.”

Heras said that the main problem facing Armenian foreign policy is that it cannot afford to break relations with Russia despite recent tensions, but that it is prepared to intervene on its behalf if another war with Azerbaijan occurs. Can’t trust Russia either. The need to balance Russia and new partners while strengthening its small army with limited resources complicates Armenia’s task.

“Armenia needs to purchase weapons that improve its ability to pursue a ‘porcupine strategy,'” Heras said, making it a more dangerous target for Azerbaijan if the two countries go to war again. Will give.

Buying French and Indian short-range air-defense weapons, which can be used by small infantry units, is “a potentially cost-effective way to impose high costs on Azerbaijan’s drone airpower,” Heras said.