Andranik Kocharyan, an MP from “Civil Contract”, believes that the Ukrainian events have an impact on the whole world. Kocharyan stated told RFE/RL’s Armenian service.

“We are part of the world, whether we want it or not, it will have some influence on Armenia (Ukrainian events – ed.) and on our region, it’s another matter how we can manage this influence so that our security environment can withstand the those difficulties.” 

When asked whether Armenia’s defense is at a high level in the case of the worst-case scenario, Kocharyan replied that after the 44-day war, some problems have been solved: “But is it enough to manage those risks at a high level? Of course, no, and to manage those risks, not only the military component must be brought to the proper level, but all state structures must be able to soften those risks, to manage them.”

Kocharyan stressed that the processes go far beyond the borders of Armenia, but they can bypass the territories and move to any corner of the world: “Of course, we must be ready for any possible scenario in order to resist and protect our people.”

Responding to the opinion that Turkey can take advantage of the Ukrainian events, which may negatively affect Armenia, Kocharyan said: “It may take advantage, but it may not, since Turkey has interests in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it cannot simultaneously serve the entire range of interests, since larger military and political developments are taking place in the European part of the planet.”