YEREVAN, June 1. /ARKA/. Armenia’s defense spending in 2020 surged from the planned 307 billion drams ($590 million) to 387 billion drams ($745 million), acting Finance Minister Atom Janjughazyan said today during a discussion in parliament on the implementation of the 2020 state budget.
The spending was increased by more than $150 million after Armenia declared martial law following the war against Nagorno-Karabakh unleashed by Azerbaijan with the support of Turkey. According to the budgeting rules, the defense spending must not be below 4% of the projected amount.
On September 27, 2020, Azerbaijani armed forces, backed by Turkey and foreign mercenaries and terrorists, attacked Nagorno-Karabakh along the entire front line using rocket and artillery weapons, heavy armored vehicles, military aircraft and prohibited types of weapons such as cluster bombs and phosphorus weapons.
After 44 days of the war, on November 9, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities. According to the document, the parties stopped at where they were at that time. The town of Shushi, the districts of Agdam, Kelbajar and Lachin were handed over to Azerbaijan, with the exception of a 5-kilometer corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia.
A Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed along the contact line in Karabakh and along the Lachin corridor. -0-