Armenian opposition criticizes sending mission to Syria

Officials voice contradictory statements about the reasons for sending a humanitarian contingent to Syria, state Armen Ashotyan, the deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA). The "Sasna Tsrer" Party described sending of armed forces to Syria as "colonial dependence on Russia."

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on February 8, a group of 83 Armenian specialists arrived in Syria. "Armenian experts will carry out humanitarian activities exclusively outside the combat zone," said Artsrun Ovannisyan, the Armenian Defence Minister.

In attempts to hide illegal sending of military contingent to Syria, the authorities for several days have been trying to justify the decision with contradictory statements, writes on Facebook Armen Ashotyan, the deputy chairman of the RPA, the former head of the foreign relations commission.

He states there is no cooperation agreement between the governments of Armenia and Syria. According to him, there is an Armenian-Syrian agreement on military and technical cooperation.

"The authorities have distorted the real name of the agreement and try to hide the fact that this is a military contingent. Although it has a humanitarian mission, it is a part of the Armenian armed forces. According to Article 7 of the Law 'On Defence', the decision to send a military contingent to participate in a peacekeeping mission or in hostilities is to be made by the government of the country. However, the public knows nothing about such a decision," the politician emphasized.

Meanwhile, Armen Ashotyan expects that MPs who have access to "secret" documents will take control over the issue of sending military contingent to Syria.

The "Sasna Tsrer" Party has also criticized the authorities' decision to send a humanitarian contingent to Syria.

"The authorities consistently ignore the need to overcome colonial dependence on Russia and establish worthy relations between the countries, while continuing the foreign policy of the former regime. We are approaching the critical point of giving up sovereignty in external relations," notes the "Sasna Tsrer" Party in the statement published on its official website.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 11, 2019 at 02:46 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.