Your trusted source

In his interview with Panorama.am, First Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia David Tonoyan spoke about Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s speech  at the UN Summit on Peacekeeping Operations in New York, and the recent incidents on Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the line of contact between the armed forces of Karabakh and Azerbaijan.

Panorama.am:  In his speech at the UN Summit on Peacekeeping Operations in New York on September 28, President Sargsyan said that Armenia has undertaken new commitments to train and provide specialized units for UN peacekeeping missions. What can you say about the capabilities of those units?
Tonoyan:  International peacekeeping experience that Armenia has accumulated in the last 10-11 years as well as confidence that our peacekeepers enjoy among international organizations and partners led  UN coordinating peacekeeping missions to request Armenia to train and provide specialized units for participation in UN peacekeeping missions. For that reason Armenia was included in the list of about 40 countries to be invited to the summit. I should note that over 100,000 military, policemen and civilians from 120 countries are now involved in UN peacekeeping forces. A number of countries provided several thousand peacekeepers, but only a few countries are able to allocate specialized units.
The first unit of Armenian Defense Ministry is a Role II medical hospital with its associated personnel. It is a mobile hospital that can be deployed in the vicinity of a danger zone to provide first medical aid  with the aim of stabilizing  patients’ condition and  transporting the wounded from the battlefield , if necessary, also performing emergency surgery and ensuring their transportation to a hospital for further treatment. Our unit will be set up on the basis of IMEDS hospital provided by the US in 2007.
The second unit is a company of EOD/C¬IED (Explosive Ordnance Disposal & Counter ¬Improvised Explosive Device) soldiers. They are now carrying out humanitarian demining in Armenia. The company will be given devices for detection and removal of improvised explosive devices planted by terrorist groups. After undergoing relevant training, the unit members will ensure secure transportation of international forces and regional population.

Panorama.am:  What stage is the training process in now?  
Tonoyan:  A rather ambitious program has been developed to train the units. It is expected to be completed in 2-3 years. Not everything depends on the Armenian side, however. Training shall be conducted with the assistance of our international partners, and then there is also the issue of technical equipment, which we also plan to solve with our partners’ support.   
Both units shall pass certification by the UN and NATO. After training and certification, they will join the reserve peacekeeping forces of the UN. In case of need, the UN will apply to Armenia to deploy those units a part of some mission. Armenia will respond to the request in accordance with intrastate procedures.

Panorama.am: Please comment on the recent incidents on Armenia-Azerbaijan border and the Karabakh-Azerbaijan line of Contact.
Tonoyan:   “The artillery shelling of villages in Armenia’s Tavush province resulting in civilian deaths, the use of 122mm artillery weapons for the first time since the signing of the 1994 agreement on ceasefire, the unfounded -  from a military point of view -  artillery strikes  on infrastructure located in the rear of the frontline and the personnel being trained there  represent yet another step towards large-scale military actions.
 I am deeply convinced that as a result of such a strategy, issues of compelling Baku to sign a ceasefire on new terms, rather than agenda issues related to the respect for the ceasefire and trust building, will be put on the negotiating table before Azerbaijan’s military-political leadership.