When considering the problems of security and war, one should keep in mind that Armenia is two states - the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - and, in some aspects, also the Diaspora, military and national security expert Hrachya Arzumanyan said in an interview to ArmInfo.
He said that arms race is always a blow on the social-economic sector.
"But does Armenia have another choice? I think no. We have no alternative: it was not we who started the race but we are forced to react to it despite all negative consequences. Our people are wise enough to understand that we need arms race and to put up with the price we are forced to pay for our independent future," Arzumanyan said.
He does not think that arms race and military spending are very painful problems for the Armenian society.
"We have much bigger threats coming from outside. Arms race is part of Azerbaijan's militarist policy. The Azeris' aspiration to start a new war or to force Armenia to give up by scaring it with high military spending is making Armenia increasingly less secure. Given no international guarantees and security systems in the region, Armenia can rely on its own self only and is forced also to engage in arms race in order to restore the balance. As a result, arms race is becoming an increasingly autonomous process with own logic and may one day go out of control and lead to a new war in the region. This is the most dangerous aspect of this process," Arzumanyan said.
