“They could have shot down Turkish F-16s, but the Russian Federation didn't advise it” - former Armenian defense minister
David Tonoyan on the circumstances of the 2020 war
“The air force of the Defense Army could have shot down Turkish F-16s, but this did not happen, because the Russian Federation urged not to provoke the situation,” former Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan said at a meeting of the commission investigating the circumstances of the 2020 Karabakh war. The former minister, who is under arrest, arrived at the meeting from prison. He talked about the beginning and course of the war, the supply of weapons to the army, and Turkish support for Azerbaijan.
On September 30, 2021, the National Security Service of Armenia reported that David Tonoyan and David Galstyan, who heads a company supplying weapons to the Armenian army, were detained on suspicion of embezzlement on an especially large scale. On the same day, the court ruled on their arrest. In June 2023, the Anti-Corruption Court decided to release David Galstyan on bail of 40 million drams ($104,000). The ex-minister remains in custody.
According to Tonoyan, Russia urged “to show composure”, while every day “four Turkish fighters rose into the sky.” He says that he has repeatedly discussed this issue with the ambassadors of countries that are members of the Russian military bloc CSTO and NATO.
He assures that he gave them F-16 flight diagrams and asked them to “neutralize Turkey’s participation.” He promised to announce his assumption about why this did not happen at a closed meeting of the commission. It will take place on August 2, Tonoyan will speak on those questions, the answers of which contain state secrets.
David Tonoyan first stated that he would take part in the meeting of the commission if it was public and held in the format of a dialogue with the Prime Minister of Armenia. The commission replied that it was impossible. When Tonoyan agreed to participate in the meeting without the prime minister, the commission announced that it would be held behind closed doors. On July 28, the ex-minister’s lawyers reminded him that he insisted on holding an open meeting. The parliamentary commission finally agreed to this condition.
“Knight’s move” – about Turkey’s participation in the war
Answering a question about Turkey’s involvement, the ex-minister regarded its participation as a “knight’s move.” He drew attention to the fact that this country was involved precisely in the Karabakh direction, and not Nakhichevan or Armenia:
“It was our miscalculation, we did not calculate that the Turkish armed forces could appear 25-45 km from the theater of military operations in Artsakh, carrying out flights here.”
He said that there is a proxy type of involvement in the war, but in this case it was not so.
“Turkey’s intervention was not indirect, but direct. F-16s were used, which discovered, revealed our entire air defense system. And we know that the Armed Forces of this country are interconnected with NATO.” Tonoyan stopped there without finalizing his point, but promised to reveal all the details at a closed meeting.
“The armed forces were ready to withstand a force that was 2-3 times greater”
This is how the ex-minister assessed the situation in the army during his tenure, “taking into account the readiness, geography and positions where the Armenian Armed Forces were stationed.” He stressed that this is not “a subjective assessment, but a reasoned conclusion.”
He also said that he could not give a positive assessment of the presence of military equipment:
“In this regard, everything was at zero, we did not have aviation, fighters.”
“The situation was alarming”
Tonoyan said that before the start of the war, he was aware of the anxiety of the situation, based on his experience and analysis of the information received.
“But the date of the start of hostilities was not known to anyone,” he said.
He promised to answer questions about the supply of weapons and the organization of mobilization behind closed doors. But he noted that “Armenia had limited opportunities for waging this kind of war.”
Commenting on the statement of the Prime Minister of Armenia that there were restrictions on the use of certain types of weapons, he said:
“There were certain restrictions — not the types of weapons, but the location of their use.”
According to the former minister, during the days of the 44-day war, the supply routes of weapons were “sealed” and the weapons came to Armenia “via subterfuge.”
He told the members of the commission that weapons were nevertheless brought in, doing the “impossible”, and even the President of Azerbaijan twice publicly complained that Armenia was managing to organize the deliveries.
According to him, the command and control system of the Ministry of Defense and the armed forces functioned “fully” for peaceful conditions, “satisfactory” for martial law, but “not coherent enough to conduct hostilities of this magnitude.”
“There is an urgent need to give the prime minister the powers of supreme commander even in peacetime conditions,” the former defense minister said, adding that after the war the command and control system of the armed forces was not sufficiently reformed. However, Tonoyan did not explain what problems it is necessary to solve.
“My position was unequivocal: we can resist”
Tonoyan said that in May 2018, when he took over as minister, he was confident that “Armenia can resist Azerbaijan’s aggression along Armenia’s borders and ensure security and the right to self-determination of NK Armenians.” He says that he also took into account the economic and demographic situation in the country.
“If in 2020 the armed forces of Armenia would receive the necessary equipment, in the event of the resumption of hostilities by Azerbaijan, the Armenian Armed Forces could end up on the eastern borders of Azerbaijan, on the coast of the Caspian Sea,” he said.
Answering a question about supplying the army with the necessary equipment, he said:
“Twice, in 2018 and 2019, we stated the need to replenish the arsenal.”
According to Tonoyan, before the start of the 2020 war, Armenia had never been able to adequately replenish the resources of weapons and military equipment.
“I was on the plane by the time the war started”
He dwelled in detail on why and where he was before the start of the war. On September 25, 2020, he arrived in Russia for military exercises, until the evening of September 26 he was in “one of the EU and NATO member countries to organize the supply of weapons and military equipment.”
Continuing the thought about the goals of his trip, he called the assertion that Armenia’s membership in the Russian military bloc CSTO is an obstacle to acquiring weapons “from other countries” a myth.
“Then I went on another business trip, to one of the countries of Central Asia, where people from the CSTO member countries were supposed to arrive to participate in the negotiations.”
After the plane landed, on the morning of September 27, the chief of the General Staff reported to him about the beginning of the war. Due to flight restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, he managed to take off after 2-3 hours and returned to Armenia via Georgia.
“Modernization was planned to be completed within three years”
According to the former minister, not a penny was spent on the purchase of Su-30 fighters from the state budget. Payment for the transaction took place from other sources “not prohibited by law.” The ex-minister promised to reveal the details at a closed meeting.
Tonoyan stressed that the future was taken into account when purchasing these aircraft, it was a step to increase the level of the aircraft:
“I regret that the SU-30s were not purchased earlier. It took time for them to become combat-ready after acquisition and be able to demonstrate their offensive capabilities, and not just fulfill the function of deterrence.
He never answered the question of whether it was true that during the entire period of the war only one SU-30 flight was made – and then only reconnaissance.
He only noted that “fighters were purchased to strengthen the borders of Armenia and strengthen air defense.”
David Tonoyan said that on August 24, 2020, an agreement was signed in Moscow on the modernization of purchased SU-30s with Russia. According to the contract, the modernization was planned to be completed within three years.
“I am very interested in what stage this process is at. We had to make some progress within 3 years,” he said.
“We need to analyze mistakes and find ways”
After answering questions from the committee members, Tonoyan made a short speech. He said that the Armenian side was defeated in the war “in an unequal battle in all respects with a vastly superior force.” And he added that “this does not give anyone the right to play with the national dignity of a people.”
The former minister said that Armenia “paid an extremely high price.” And in memory of the youth who died in the war, it is necessary to analyze the mistakes and find ways to return to a decent life:
“They did not give their lives so that we would listen from high tribunes to speeches that “it’s all over” and we must agree to all the conditions imposed on us.”
Follow us – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
David Tonoyan on the circumstances of the 2020 war
