A recent instance of high-level betrayal has been demonstrated by Paris and Yerevan. France and Armenia have signed a defense cooperation program for 2025, encompassing numerous measures across nearly all areas of military activity. Consultations for the agreement reportedly took place in Yerevan.
To be fair, military cooperation between France and Armenia is neither a secret nor a novelty. However, the announcement of “strategic defense consultations” came shortly after Ukrainian sources revealed a shocking report: weapons supplied by France, Iran, and India to Armenia are being transferred to Russia. A document from the logistics company Spayka, highlighted by Ukrainian sources, allegedly confirms these claims. According to the reports, French Caesar self-propelled howitzers, VBL light armored vehicles, Bastion armored personnel carriers, Indian Akash Hind medium-range air defense systems, and Milan anti-tank missile systems (a joint Franco-Indian development) are among the items being sent to Russia. Although the authenticity of the document has yet to be fully verified, Ukrainian sources claim it has a high degree of credibility. Notably, similar phrasing was used when Ukrainian sources first reported the presence of North Korean troops on the Russian side of the front lines, a claim later confirmed by Western intelligence.
Weapons export agreements almost universally prohibit re-export, especially to adversarial nations. It is difficult to imagine that such nuances were not discussed in Paris. Yet, instead of halting agreements with Armenia until these allegations were resolved, France proceeded to sign the cooperation program, seemingly ignoring the Ukrainian revelations.
The Ukrainian leak concerning Armenia’s weapon transfers to Russia emerged against a telling backdrop. The Kremlin has effectively dismissed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s attempts to stage a “political demarche” against the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization). In late November, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, “Armenia has not announced its withdrawal from the organization; it has merely taken a pause and continues to support all documents adopted at today’s meeting (referring to a CSTO summit at the time).” Putin also emphasized that “there has been no external aggression against Armenia, and the CSTO is designed to defend against such aggression.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later reinforced this stance, noting that Armenia had not submitted any formal withdrawal documents from the CSTO. Lavrov’s comments directly undermined Pashinyan’s claims that relations between Armenia and the CSTO had reached a point of no return.
Experienced observers recall that even under pro-Russian leaders like Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, Armenia sought to play its own game within the CSTO. For example, Sargsyan consistently resisted delegating Armenian forces to the CSTO’s Collective Rapid Reaction Forces. Notably, in January 2022, it was Pashinyan who authorized the deployment of Armenian troops to Kazakhstan as part of the CSTO mission. In 2014, following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Armenia refused to sever ties with NATO despite calls from Moscow.
Against this backdrop, France has decided to formalize military cooperation with Armenia—a country that retains close military ties with Russia, including joint ground and air defense formations. France, as a member of the EU and NATO, risks amplifying security threats not only to Ukraine but also to Europe.
The motivations behind France’s actions remain unclear. Is it naivety? Did French intelligence fail to inform President Macron about Armenia’s real activities? Or is it a calculated move to exploit Pashinyan’s seemingly pro-Western gestures as an opportunity to arm Armenia against “Muslim Azerbaijan,” driven by historical crusader-like sentiments?
Whatever the reasoning, Western policymakers must remember this: weapons supplied to Armenia are being passed on to Russia. These arms could eventually be used not just against Ukraine, but potentially against Europe itself.
Nurani
Translated from minval.az
