April 2, 2016

Policy Forum Armenia profoundly mourns the loss of civilian and military life and offers its deepest condolences to the families of victims of this latest Azerbaijani aggression.
 
We place the blame for the escalation of the situation entirely on the Aliyev regime, whose bellicose rhetoric of recent months has become even more aggressive, as a way of diverting attention of own population from worsening economic and human rights conditions in the country.
 
We note the futility of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and Russia—Armenia’s “strategic” partner and weapons’ supplier to Azerbaijan—which underscores the need for Armenia to reduce its reliance on these arrangements by further strengthening its own defenses and diversifying its security arrangements to include its western partners. 
 
We reiterate that the Sargsyan regime remains the ultimate reason for Armenia’s weaknesses on diplomatic and security fronts, which have left the enemy unchecked, both diplomatically and militarily. A de facto client state of Russia, marred with systemic corruption and human rights abuses, Armenia has lost its international standing in recent years and remains extremely vulnerable economically, a problem that requires an urgent solution.
 
Finally, we fully support the people of Armenia in their aspiration to build a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic country in Armenia proper and Artsakh, and remain committed to contributing to these objectives in any way consistent with our mandate. 
 
PFA Executive Board