Marukyan urges U.S. guarantees on arms supplied to Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - Edmon Marukyan, leader of the Bright Armenia party, addressed the upcoming visit of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance in a Facebook video, stating that Armenia must obtain guarantees from the U.S. that American-supplied weapons to Azerbaijan will not be used against Armenia.

“We need guarantees from the U.S. Either they should arm us too for balance, or they must guarantee their weapons won’t be used against us,” he said.

He recalled that for decades, Azerbaijan was under U.S. sanctions and could not purchase American arms or dual-use goods, except for those used to secure its border with Iran.

Marukyan also raised concerns about the fate of Armenian prisoners, sentenced to life and long-term imprisonment in Baku, the day after Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev received a peace prize in Abu Dhabi.

“Yet after these verdicts, we hear no official reaction from the Armenian government,” he noted.

According to Marukyan, sentencing the former political and military leadership of Artsakh to life terms is an indictment of Armenia’s last 30 years of statehood, designed to extract territorial concessions in the future.

“Azerbaijan has territorial claims on Syunik, Gegharkunik, and Vayots Dzor. The question is why Azerbaijan is arming itself, and against whom?” he asked, adding once again that guarantees are essential.

Marukyan also suggested that Vance’s regional tour may aim to assess Armenia’s and Azerbaijan’s positions regarding potential actions against Iran.

U.S. Vice President will travel to Baku on Feb 10.