Political analyst David Petrosyan said that after the war in Karabakh, an agreement was signed among Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan, at the initiative of Moscow. Under the agreement, the sides should hold joint discussions on facts of all military incidents on the contact line of the Azerbaijani and NKR Armed Forces, Petrosyan told a sitting of the foreign relations committee of the national parliament, which is in process of formation at the initiative of Sardarapat movement.

Commenting on information in media that Russia may sell S-300 defense complexes to Azerbaijan, Petrosyan noted that if Azerbaijan purchases this type of weapon, the military and political balance will be violated in the region.

“Russia reasons the possible sale of this defense complex by the following arguments: Azerbaijan will be using this weapon for protection of its oil wells from Iran’s possible attack but not against Armenia. Russian officials also noted that if Russia refrains from selling S-300 complexes, Azerbaijan will buy them from Israel anyway,” said Petrosyan. He added that Russia’s arguments are suspect, as Iran does not intend to attack Azerbaijan, while Israel and the U.S. are not going to sell such complexes to Azerbaijan.

Petrosyan noted that if Azerbaijan purchases S-300 defense complexes, it will use them for the purposes of attack. “In case of resumption of hostilities by Azerbaijan, the efficiency of Armenia’s retaliatory measures will be sharply lowered,” noted David Petrosyan. He added that the Armenian leadership should discuss the issue with Russia.

According to Petrosyan, the role of the U.S. is of keen importance in this situation, as it may restrain Azerbaijan’s ambitions. “Taking this into consideration, the soonest appointment of a new U.S. ambassador to Armenia is important – be it Matthew Bryza or someone else,” the expert said.

Answering the question as to why Moscow decided to sell S-300 defense complexes to Azerbaijan, being well aware of the possibility of violation of the military and political balance in the region, Petrosyan noted that currently Russia is more interested in Azerbaijan. “Russia’s strategic purpose is to bring its peacekeeping forces to the Karabakh conflict zone, while Russia can achieve this through the sale of S-300 complexes to Azerbaijan. However, the Azerbaijani leadership has not agreed to it yet, and negotiations on it are held at the highest level,” concluded David Petrosyan.