Weapons are being purchased that Armenia will not be able to use if necessary, former Armenian President and prime ministerial candidate of the Hayastan alliance Robert Kocharyan said during a meeting with voters in Ijevan.
He stated that funds originally intended for air defense systems had instead been used to purchase Su fighter jets worth around $120 million, Sputnik Armenia reports.
“It is a disgrace for which no one was held accountable. If air defense systems had been purchased, I say with 100 percent confidence that the issue of the Bayraktars would have been resolved and the war would have ended completely differently. We lost that war to unmanned aerial vehicles,” Kocharyan said.
He also commented on newly acquired military equipment.
“For example, French artillery, which is good, but artillery without shells is simply scrap metal, several tons of metal. Now look at the map — how are you supposed to bring those shells from France to Armenia when needed, and through which route? Let me remind you that during the 44-day war, only Iranian airspace was open for such deliveries. What is happening around Iran now means that route would also be closed for deliveries from France, a NATO member state,” Kocharyan said.
He suggested that some quantity of shells had likely already been delivered to Armenia, but also expressed the view that under conditions of intensive warfare this would be enough for only two or three weeks.
Earlier, during a campaign event in the village of Dprabak in Gegharkunik Province, Kocharyan stated that if security and the army were true priorities for the state, police patrol officers would not receive higher salaries than military personnel.
He stressed that during his presidency he consistently ensured that military salaries remained on average 25 percent higher than police salaries.
“People now look at this and say the army is not a priority for the state, otherwise patrol officers would not earn more than soldiers. Salaries, benefits and bonuses are the primary way for a state to demonstrate its priorities,” he said.
Kocharyan added that advantages within the police system are granted not to those working on crime detection, but to those operating what he described as a “tool of political pressure.”
Parliamentary elections in Armenia are scheduled for June 7, 2026. Nineteen political forces — including two alliances and 17 parties — have applied to participate. The official election campaign began on May 8 and will continue through June 5.
