Samvel Babayan Accuses Armenian Ministry of Defense of Mediocrity

The former commander of the forces of Karabakh Samvel Babayan, who recently returned from exile, strongly criticized the government and military in Armenia, saying that the areas captured by Azerbaijan in April are of strategic importance. Thus, in an interview with Civil Net he said the achievements of Azerbaijan during the four-day war were unexpected for Baku itself, as Azerbaijanis were able to capture the positions for half an hour or an hour.

"The reserve brigades of two Azerbaijani units occupied Armenian positions, and then we tried to counter-attack and regain the lost positions, which somewhere took place, but somewhere we were not successful. The reason was our indifference and our position weakened. The Defense Ministry should conduct an investigation and understand what actually happened. The fact is that these positions were lost in an hour," said Babayan.

"I do not know who searched the area in meters - 800 or 1,800? With regard to these positions, particularly in the direction of Martakert, these positions were strategic points of dual purpose. Firstly, they provided the population an opportunity to live. Secondly, from this territory we controlled all the plain on our palms - from Kirovabad to Mirbashir. There are no non-strategic positions there, especially in the direction of Martakert," he said.

Noting that Azerbaijan is preparing for war and is buying a large number of artillery and missiles to "bulldoze the front line, as well as towns and villages," Babayan said Armenia cannot compete with Azerbaijan either in terms of financial or in terms of human resources.

According to him, since 2014 Azerbaijan has been preparing for a long war and focuses on artillery in an attempt to neutralize the Armenian positions from afar. It will not have problems with weapons, because Baku has already started manufacturing shells. "Our infantry is to keep the enemy at a distance of at least 300-500 meters. If we do not succeed, we will allow the enemy to leak to the rear. I do not think this is correct. Azerbaijan buys advanced weapons, as its purpose is to crash the front line, which is understandable. We are not able to compete with the resources of Azerbaijan, and therefore we need to find a solution," said Babayan.

 "Imagine that they set various Israeli or Russian rocket systems in Nakhichevan. The question arises, why? Do they want to strike on Karabakh? For this, they could establish them on the border of Karabakh, not in Nakhichevan. That is, when we say that we are ready to launch an attack, the opponent will certainly take advantage of it and hit already Yerevan. From Yerevan to Nakhichevan there is 42 kilometers. These weapons, the jet missile systems operate at a distance of 70 to 150 km. Are we ready to defend against them, to protect our towns and villages? This is not a thing to say that we will drink tea in Baku. Well, you can drink tea in Baku, but I am afraid that they are likely to reach Yerevan and drink tea here. You cannot wear a general's uniform and make statements of a collective farm chairman. Our soldiers will not be able to resist so many missiles. If for a moment about 25 thousand shells fall on the front line, will the people be able to resist it? What do you mean as "our spirit is high"? Will our soldier catch the missile or the rocket in the air? We must think about the safety of the soldiers," said Babayan.

Next Babayan said about some ideas and weapons of air defense systems, which supposedly will help the Armenians keep the Azerbaijanis away. However, his statement contradicts what he said above. "Our challenge is to close the airspace," he said, adding that he conveyed his concerns to the authorities. Without naming specific names of arms, Babayan, however, said that these weapons should be presented to Armenia by Russia as a partner in the CSTO, and at low cost. According to Babayan, now it is not the issue of Karabakh, but the entire Armenian statehood. "But the military leadership should not deceive their own people by claiming that we will crash Baku with only two missiles, even not understanding the power or capabilities of this missile. You cannot deceive your own people," he said. -02D-