Russia is helping Armenia reform its military following the country’s deadly war with Azerbaijan last year over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenian defense minister Vagharshak Harutyunyan told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
The reforms are aimed at optimizing the Armenian military’s numerical strength as well as implementing new weapons systems and military equipment, Harutyunyan said.
“Conducting military reform in Armenia isn’t just planned, but is already being carried out, and our Russian colleagues are directly involved in this process,” RIA Novosti quoted him as saying Monday.
Harutyunyan added that Yerevan is counting on Moscow’s assistance in the Nagorno-Karabakh peacekeeping process.
Last November, a Russia-brokered peace deal brought an end to the six-week conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, with Azerbaijan regaining control of the seven districts it had lost in the war of 1991-1994. As part of the three-way agreement, Russia deployed about 2,000 military peacekeepers to the region.