Report Summary

In the wake of the recent revelation that Russia has begun the delivery of some $1 billion in arms and weapons systems to Azerbaijan , there is renewed concern over a possible shift in the already delicate regional balance of power in the volatile South Caucasus. Although this new arms deal does provide Azerbaijan with a significant amount of offensive weapons from Russia, including battle tanks, heavy artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers, in strictly military terms, it is not sufficient to impact the balance of power on its own.

The Regional Studies Center (RSC) released a new report, “Armenia: Pre-Election Assessment,” RSC Special Analysis, Volume II No. 1, 31 January 2013.

The attached are the English- and Armenian-language versions of a short article on Armenian defense reform, entitled "Armenian Military & Security Policy: Regaining a Strategic Balance," to be published in the forthcoming issue of the "Yerevak" (Armenian-language) magazine.

.

The attached article, “Recent Trends in Security and Stability in the South Caucasus,” is a joint analysis I co-authored with Dr. Sergey Minasyan, which was published in the Winter 2011 issue of CONNECTIONS. The Quarterly Journal (Volume XI, Number 1), a publication of the Partnership for Peace Consortium of Defense Academies and Security Studies Institutes, at the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch, Germany.