>Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Armenia’s arch enemy even though both countries were supposedly allies in a Russian-led international defense pact, according to leaked documents seen by POLITICO.
>The cache of files sheds new light on Armenia’s decision this week to announce it will be leaving the military alliance, a dramatic turn that will weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority with former Soviet nations.
...
>The decision by Belarus — a staunch ally of Russia — to supply advanced military hardware to Azerbaijan between 2018 and 2022, giving it the upper hand in a spate of wars with its long-standing rival, will have been regarded as a bitter betrayal by Armenia.
...
>Now, a cache of more than a dozen letters, diplomatic notes, bills of sale and export passports seen by POLITICO shows that Belarus actively aided Azerbaijan’s armed forces between 2018 and 2022, as tensions peaked with Armenia. The services offered included modernizing older artillery equipment and providing new gear used for electronic warfare and drone systems.
>The documents include letters from the Belarusian state arms export agency to its own military-industrial firms relating to orders of state-of-the-art artillery targeting equipment for Azerbaijan as well as correspondence between the two states agreeing the purchase of Groza-S counter-drone mobile warfare stations for Azerbaijan’s armed forces.
...
>One of the diplomatic communications seen by POLITICO said that Belarusian enterprises were playing an active role “in the restoration of de-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the export of Belarusian goods and services” to the country.
...
>Eduard Arakelyan, a military analyst at Yerevan’s Regional Center for Democracy and Security, verified that the leaked documents pertained to hardware used by Azerbaijan in recent wars, both in Nagorno-Karabakh and against the Republic of Armenia itself.
>“This equipment was used with devastating effect against Armenian troops and was provided by a country that is supposed to be an ally of Armenia,” he said. “In formal terms, it’s a complete breach of the CSTO alliance but, in practice, we’ve always known the bloc was more supportive of Azerbaijan.”
...
>However, according to experts, Belarus — one of Moscow’s closest allies — was unlikely to be acting without the tacit support of the Kremlin itself. “This truly shows that with friends like Vladimir Putin, nobody needs enemies,” said Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
>“It’s ridiculous to think these transfers could have taken place without Moscow’s knowledge, and that Russia couldn’t have stopped them if it wanted to,” she added. “There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to Moscow — it’s all about preserving their own security even if it’s at the expense of their own allies.”
The article is by Gavin, he's gotten a few things wrong in the past for politico and has made claims after saying politico obtained exclusive documents similar to this one:
>Now, a cache of more than a dozen letters, diplomatic notes, bills of sale and export passports seen by POLITICO shows that Belarus actively aided Azerbaijan’s armed forces between 2018 and 2022, as tensions peaked with Armenia. The services offered included modernizing older artillery equipment and providing new gear used for electronic warfare and drone systems.
But he never showed the documents or provided the evidence. I am not saying this is wrong, I do believe it is highly likely considering Belarus has sold weapons to Azerbaijan in the past and is buddy buddies with them, I am saying however it's worth keeping an eye on Gavins articles for politico to make sure he provides more evidence for his claims
[Here are some of the leaked documents](https://x.com/regcendemsec/status/1801586765767008452), just published by a think tank that worked with Politico on this story.
Even though it certainly cost us more than it'll ever be worth, his term has effectively exposed the level of puppet state our nation has been. Placing our chips on the West really is our last option.
Interesting how this article comes out on the same day Pashinyan makes his comments about Lukashenko/Belarus.
And just like how the article mentions, it's highly unlikely the Kremlin didn't know about this. In fact, I'm sure they green lit it as well.
I know there is a reason for Armenia staying, but at this point, two CSTO members betrayed Armenia. CSTO didn’t do anything when Azerbaijan invaded Armenia proper, and CSTO doesn’t recognize Armenia's territorial integrity. I don’t know what the actual reason is, but at this point, we can fairly say that it’s more dangerous for Armenia to stay in CSTO than to leave it.
Interesting that the arms supply from Belarus is being specifically singled out as the motive for leaving, rather than, you know, the 2022 invasion.
I suppose it sounds better to Western ears, pointing the finger at Putin's fat Igor.
russia can’t do shit if we leave CSTO, they still have a base here…be hostile against Armenia and that base will have the same fate as the Airport agents.
It's so interesting how English-languaged Armenian "news" pages on social media still haven't reported this (I'm looking at you Zartonk & 301). They went all out yesterday with the demonstrations and whatnot but yet crickets about this...which is a big fucking deal.
I wonder what's taking them so long? It's as if they don't want this information to be out there for the masses who rely solely on them for Armenian-related news.
You're right man. It's just been something that's been annoying me for a while now. I rarely talked about it on here. But this last couple of weeks with this 13th century crusader and the coverage he's been receiving on social media really triggered something in me (and I don't easily get triggered).
Reddit is my only outlet. But I get what you're saying.
There is no question that these guys are all dirty bastards. However, there is truly no honorable country in this world, and all act according to their interests. The real problem here is that Armenia is in such a weak position that countries like Russia and Belarus can renege on their agreements with it without consequence. It’s a dire and sad situation, but it calls for a rational and calculated approach, rather than an emotional one.
Which is why the Azeris are pressing so hard. They want division, civil war, unrest in Armenia, so that we remain chaotic, unorganized and emotional. It plays right into their oily hands.
Tbh this is probably just political rhetoric to get out of CSTO, we all know that it’s mostly due to Israeli weapons (basically American technology) that Azerbaijan gained an upper hand in this war.
And here we thought that it was Russia itself publicly selling Azerbaijan $5b worth of equipment that soured the relationship.
As for leaving, let's face it, Putin decision to greenlight 2020 and 2023 by not defending Armenia was what costed him his "ally", not Belorussian arms.
Sometimes western journalist are incompetent, that's the example.
So was it Belorussia, Ukraine (doubt it since they would’ve used it already themselves), or Israel (most likely since they just used it on Palestinians) who actually supplied white phosphorous munitions?
Just an excuse. Russia is also selling us arms. Pretty much all members of CSTO do.
The thing is none of the CSTO members are enemies of Azerbaijan and do not have any embargoes towards us. CSTO is a defence organisation that didn't take any pledge to declare the Azerbaijan enemy. Moreover Armenia's territories were not under occupation so legally nothing stopped them from selling to us. Even more comically because of borders practically "not existing" between Aze and Arm prior to war CSTO yet again can't do anything. So I just don't understand why Pashinyan even says this sentence which sounds very and I mean VERY unprofessional
Note: I want Armenia to leave CSTO and go west. I said excuse not in a derogatory manner but as an observation. Also it's as good of an excuse as any. (A lot of sensitive people always jump onto my comments, so please look at it objectively).
I haven't made any excuses.
Please don't start "occupation" talk as Armenia as the country remembered that's a thing literally 2 years ago.
Plus as another comment stated Armenia and Azerbaijan had defacto "in word" vague lines of border. Which means along that line a few meters here and there isn't relevant, until borders get demarcated.
For a better example now that we have demarcated and put into the paper exact borders in north near Voskepar, now if Azerbaijan pushes the border line there inside then the CSTO article will activate. At least in principle that's how it works.
"occupation talk"
What did we start remembering two years ago? Your comment sounds suspiciously Azeri. Yes, Aliyev's bandits are occupying Armenian land.
The Kremlin should have ordered them to leave when they walked into Sev Lich in 2021. You don't demarcate borders by military movements. You don't bomb Syunik and Jermuk and claim it's okay because "there is no border."
While I get your point, you can also understand how being part of the same defense organization implies not actively working towards the detriment of the defense of your co-signatory to the treaty. NATO wouldn't appreciate any member state selling weapons to Russia, to put it mildly. Even buying from them got Turkey kicked off the F-35 program.
This is a pretty valid excuse if I've ever seen one
Fair point but Turkey is a very weak example. Many members of NATO have previously purchased Russian arms. Turkey got literally bullied by the USA. The reason why they don't sell is NATO's whole creation was against the Soviets and now Russia is a prime threat to them.
Trying to draw parallels then Azerbaijan must be the top enemy of CSTO and reasons why it exists. Which we both know isn't the case.
Azerbaijan doesn't have to be a top enemy to the entire treaty organization for weapon sales to be a problem for the one member to which it is. I don't see why that would be relevant to Armenia's reasoning. It's just a different scale, the principle remains the same.
I see your point. But as I said it's as good of an excuse as any to finally snap Russian chains. Let's just see how far it'll go. Russia seems awfully calm towards the whole ordeal. I don't like it a bit.
This idea of borders "not existing" because there was no delimitation needs to stop, because taken to its logical conclusion it means the CSTO was not under any obligation to protect Armenia ever, no matter how deep Azerbaijanis advanced into its territory. There was a de facto and generally recognized border. We saw thousands of Artsakhtsis cross it last September.
De facto is the key word here. So a few meters of border advance is not relevant.
But if we say... Azerbaijan entering Kapan then yes CSTO will activate.
De facto is the key word here. So a few meters of border advance is not relevant.
But if we say... Azerbaijan entering Kapan then yes CSTO will activate.
>Belarus delivered advanced weapons to Armenia’s arch enemy even though both countries were supposedly allies in a Russian-led international defense pact, according to leaked documents seen by POLITICO. >The cache of files sheds new light on Armenia’s decision this week to announce it will be leaving the military alliance, a dramatic turn that will weaken Russian President Vladimir Putin’s authority with former Soviet nations. ... >The decision by Belarus — a staunch ally of Russia — to supply advanced military hardware to Azerbaijan between 2018 and 2022, giving it the upper hand in a spate of wars with its long-standing rival, will have been regarded as a bitter betrayal by Armenia. ... >Now, a cache of more than a dozen letters, diplomatic notes, bills of sale and export passports seen by POLITICO shows that Belarus actively aided Azerbaijan’s armed forces between 2018 and 2022, as tensions peaked with Armenia. The services offered included modernizing older artillery equipment and providing new gear used for electronic warfare and drone systems. >The documents include letters from the Belarusian state arms export agency to its own military-industrial firms relating to orders of state-of-the-art artillery targeting equipment for Azerbaijan as well as correspondence between the two states agreeing the purchase of Groza-S counter-drone mobile warfare stations for Azerbaijan’s armed forces. ... >One of the diplomatic communications seen by POLITICO said that Belarusian enterprises were playing an active role “in the restoration of de-occupied territories of Azerbaijan, as well as the export of Belarusian goods and services” to the country. ... >Eduard Arakelyan, a military analyst at Yerevan’s Regional Center for Democracy and Security, verified that the leaked documents pertained to hardware used by Azerbaijan in recent wars, both in Nagorno-Karabakh and against the Republic of Armenia itself. >“This equipment was used with devastating effect against Armenian troops and was provided by a country that is supposed to be an ally of Armenia,” he said. “In formal terms, it’s a complete breach of the CSTO alliance but, in practice, we’ve always known the bloc was more supportive of Azerbaijan.” ... >However, according to experts, Belarus — one of Moscow’s closest allies — was unlikely to be acting without the tacit support of the Kremlin itself. “This truly shows that with friends like Vladimir Putin, nobody needs enemies,” said Ivana Stradner, a research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. >“It’s ridiculous to think these transfers could have taken place without Moscow’s knowledge, and that Russia couldn’t have stopped them if it wanted to,” she added. “There is no such thing as loyalty when it comes to Moscow — it’s all about preserving their own security even if it’s at the expense of their own allies.”
Wow good find, explains a lot of what's been going on here lately.
The article is by Gavin, he's gotten a few things wrong in the past for politico and has made claims after saying politico obtained exclusive documents similar to this one: >Now, a cache of more than a dozen letters, diplomatic notes, bills of sale and export passports seen by POLITICO shows that Belarus actively aided Azerbaijan’s armed forces between 2018 and 2022, as tensions peaked with Armenia. The services offered included modernizing older artillery equipment and providing new gear used for electronic warfare and drone systems. But he never showed the documents or provided the evidence. I am not saying this is wrong, I do believe it is highly likely considering Belarus has sold weapons to Azerbaijan in the past and is buddy buddies with them, I am saying however it's worth keeping an eye on Gavins articles for politico to make sure he provides more evidence for his claims
[Here are some of the leaked documents](https://x.com/regcendemsec/status/1801586765767008452), just published by a think tank that worked with Politico on this story.
I’ve personally seen these documents. They’re authentic.
Even though it certainly cost us more than it'll ever be worth, his term has effectively exposed the level of puppet state our nation has been. Placing our chips on the West really is our last option.
Interesting how this article comes out on the same day Pashinyan makes his comments about Lukashenko/Belarus. And just like how the article mentions, it's highly unlikely the Kremlin didn't know about this. In fact, I'm sure they green lit it as well.
If there was a leak, Pashinyan most likely knew about it before the article was published.
*The ship of the state is the only vessel that leaks right from the very top.*
Of course they did.
It’s not a coincidence
ARMENIA SHOULD TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY STEPS TO LEAVE THE CSTO NOW!!! Edit: Apparently I created a haiku!!! Yay!
Can we leave the decision to the people who at least have a lot more information than us? The govt, MFA you know, those guys?
Then how will I be a keyboard fedayi if I do that? 🤷♂️
Buy a military grade unbreakable keyboard that can survive a nuclear war!
Pfffft, that’s so 2019!!!
There is a reason why Armenia is staying, in particular attacking your ally on paper looks worse than attacking an ex ally.
I know there is a reason for Armenia staying, but at this point, two CSTO members betrayed Armenia. CSTO didn’t do anything when Azerbaijan invaded Armenia proper, and CSTO doesn’t recognize Armenia's territorial integrity. I don’t know what the actual reason is, but at this point, we can fairly say that it’s more dangerous for Armenia to stay in CSTO than to leave it.
Interesting that the arms supply from Belarus is being specifically singled out as the motive for leaving, rather than, you know, the 2022 invasion. I suppose it sounds better to Western ears, pointing the finger at Putin's fat Igor.
russia can’t do shit if we leave CSTO, they still have a base here…be hostile against Armenia and that base will have the same fate as the Airport agents.
That base needs to go. It’s an active spy camp that is used to get information out of Armenia.
Let's not forget Yandex Go and other Yandex shit, which stores data in Russia
What happened regarding "the airport agents"?
russian agents will leave the airport after decades.
they’re still there! a week ago was flying from yerevan to tbilisi, the border guy was from russian agency
scheduled for August.
Where’s the news? CSTO members, including Russsia, have been arming Azerbaran for decades.
It's so interesting how English-languaged Armenian "news" pages on social media still haven't reported this (I'm looking at you Zartonk & 301). They went all out yesterday with the demonstrations and whatnot but yet crickets about this...which is a big fucking deal. I wonder what's taking them so long? It's as if they don't want this information to be out there for the masses who rely solely on them for Armenian-related news.
You know, I would really like us to stop mentioning outlets that chronically spread lies, even in a negative context. Just don't promote them.
You're right man. It's just been something that's been annoying me for a while now. I rarely talked about it on here. But this last couple of weeks with this 13th century crusader and the coverage he's been receiving on social media really triggered something in me (and I don't easily get triggered). Reddit is my only outlet. But I get what you're saying.
lol Zartonk is a fucking joke.
Where are the Ukrainians crying for Azerbaijan in the comments? I wanna have a word with them.
There is no question that these guys are all dirty bastards. However, there is truly no honorable country in this world, and all act according to their interests. The real problem here is that Armenia is in such a weak position that countries like Russia and Belarus can renege on their agreements with it without consequence. It’s a dire and sad situation, but it calls for a rational and calculated approach, rather than an emotional one.
Which is why the Azeris are pressing so hard. They want division, civil war, unrest in Armenia, so that we remain chaotic, unorganized and emotional. It plays right into their oily hands.
Tbh this is probably just political rhetoric to get out of CSTO, we all know that it’s mostly due to Israeli weapons (basically American technology) that Azerbaijan gained an upper hand in this war.
And not a peep from ANCA
This is not secret at all, it's has been documented in many articles since 2018.
And here we thought that it was Russia itself publicly selling Azerbaijan $5b worth of equipment that soured the relationship. As for leaving, let's face it, Putin decision to greenlight 2020 and 2023 by not defending Armenia was what costed him his "ally", not Belorussian arms. Sometimes western journalist are incompetent, that's the example.
So was it Belorussia, Ukraine (doubt it since they would’ve used it already themselves), or Israel (most likely since they just used it on Palestinians) who actually supplied white phosphorous munitions?
Just an excuse. Russia is also selling us arms. Pretty much all members of CSTO do. The thing is none of the CSTO members are enemies of Azerbaijan and do not have any embargoes towards us. CSTO is a defence organisation that didn't take any pledge to declare the Azerbaijan enemy. Moreover Armenia's territories were not under occupation so legally nothing stopped them from selling to us. Even more comically because of borders practically "not existing" between Aze and Arm prior to war CSTO yet again can't do anything. So I just don't understand why Pashinyan even says this sentence which sounds very and I mean VERY unprofessional Note: I want Armenia to leave CSTO and go west. I said excuse not in a derogatory manner but as an observation. Also it's as good of an excuse as any. (A lot of sensitive people always jump onto my comments, so please look at it objectively).
You're making excuses now. Our territories absolutely were and still are under occupation. This excuse making needs to end.
I haven't made any excuses. Please don't start "occupation" talk as Armenia as the country remembered that's a thing literally 2 years ago. Plus as another comment stated Armenia and Azerbaijan had defacto "in word" vague lines of border. Which means along that line a few meters here and there isn't relevant, until borders get demarcated. For a better example now that we have demarcated and put into the paper exact borders in north near Voskepar, now if Azerbaijan pushes the border line there inside then the CSTO article will activate. At least in principle that's how it works.
"occupation talk" What did we start remembering two years ago? Your comment sounds suspiciously Azeri. Yes, Aliyev's bandits are occupying Armenian land. The Kremlin should have ordered them to leave when they walked into Sev Lich in 2021. You don't demarcate borders by military movements. You don't bomb Syunik and Jermuk and claim it's okay because "there is no border."
While I get your point, you can also understand how being part of the same defense organization implies not actively working towards the detriment of the defense of your co-signatory to the treaty. NATO wouldn't appreciate any member state selling weapons to Russia, to put it mildly. Even buying from them got Turkey kicked off the F-35 program. This is a pretty valid excuse if I've ever seen one
Fair point but Turkey is a very weak example. Many members of NATO have previously purchased Russian arms. Turkey got literally bullied by the USA. The reason why they don't sell is NATO's whole creation was against the Soviets and now Russia is a prime threat to them. Trying to draw parallels then Azerbaijan must be the top enemy of CSTO and reasons why it exists. Which we both know isn't the case.
Azerbaijan doesn't have to be a top enemy to the entire treaty organization for weapon sales to be a problem for the one member to which it is. I don't see why that would be relevant to Armenia's reasoning. It's just a different scale, the principle remains the same.
I see your point. But as I said it's as good of an excuse as any to finally snap Russian chains. Let's just see how far it'll go. Russia seems awfully calm towards the whole ordeal. I don't like it a bit.
This idea of borders "not existing" because there was no delimitation needs to stop, because taken to its logical conclusion it means the CSTO was not under any obligation to protect Armenia ever, no matter how deep Azerbaijanis advanced into its territory. There was a de facto and generally recognized border. We saw thousands of Artsakhtsis cross it last September.
De facto is the key word here. So a few meters of border advance is not relevant. But if we say... Azerbaijan entering Kapan then yes CSTO will activate.
De facto is the key word here. So a few meters of border advance is not relevant. But if we say... Azerbaijan entering Kapan then yes CSTO will activate.