“Ask Serzh Sargsyan the following: if, as he claims, statements cause wars, then what did he say that caused the onset of the April war?”—Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan

09 / 06 / 2021

Today, the Secretary of the Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, gave an interview to Factor TV about the causes and shortcomings of the war. He emphasized that revanchists who accuse the government of this war should ask the following question: how was it possible that since 2011 Azerbaijan kept spending a few milliard dollars yearly on weaponry, Serzh Sargsyan—as his friends call him, “the last bolshevik”— increased the armed forces’ budget only by $50 million in 10 years? And how were they planning on deterring Azerbaijani hostilities under conditions of an unbalanced military budget? He added that the current government increased the Armed Forces’ budget by more than $ 200 million in just seven months and stressed that this was one of the first steps towards restoring the military balance and preventing war.

As a response to a question on the resignation of the former minister of Foreign Affairs and his statement, Amen Grigoryan stated that following the minister's resignation, the Prime Minister's spokesperson (publically)requested clarifications as it was unclear what Mr. Ayvazyan meant by making such statements. He added that since May 12, there have been eight sessions of the Security Council or discussions with members of the Security Council, during which the council discussed all the possible options and that Ara Ayvazyan was also present. Grigoryan noted that, in our country, it has generally become acceptable to make a veiled statement without any explanation. Hence, the only person who can offer an explanation (in this case) is Ara Ayvazyan. Ara Ayvazyan has an obligation to explain what process is against the state interest, which caused his resignation. In the cases of both Onik Gasparyan and Ara Ayvazyan, it will turn out that we are dealing with a lie.

full interview