Month: May 2021

Quick steps are needed to avoid new losses amid Azerbaijan’s encroachment on the sovereign territory of Armenia, according to military expert Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the analytical center Henaket.

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported that as of Saturday morning the Azerbaijani troops had not fully withdrawn from Armenia’s territory after their incursion into Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces on 12-13 May under the pretext of “border clarification”.

“The Azerbaijani aggression against Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces of the Republic of Armenia, as well as the statements of the Armenian authorities that we must be ready for the worst-case scenario, the situation is explosive, etc., imply that it is necessary to take measures consistent with the current situation,” Abrahamyan wrote on Facebook on Saturday.

He called attention to the fact that a number of settlements in Syunik are in close proximity to the Azerbaijani positions, which creates risks for constant threats in this direction.

“A part of Goris-Vorotan highway is completely under the control of Azerbaijan, while Azerbaijani strongholds are deployed in areas near the villages of Vorotan and David Bek, in many cases 50-100 meters away from the main highway.

“Not to mention the village of Shurnukh, which is literally divided into two parts – Armenian and Azerbaijani,” he said, adding similar problems are observed near the airport of the town of Kapan, as well as on Kapan-Chakaten highway.

“Under the current situation in Ishkhanasar, Kut or Verin Shorzha or in the event of sharp escalation of tensions, serious developments are possible on the parts of the border with Armenia, where Azerbaijan has gained advantages.

“There is a need to take new serious measures in these areas to strengthen the border security and to ensure the protection of our citizens travelling along the highway. We must act promptly, otherwise new losses are inevitable,” Abrahamyan said. 

French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte took to Facebook on Saturday to share a poem entitled “Impromptu” by renowned Armenian poet Hovhannes Shiraz in the French and Armenian languages.

Below is the English version of the poem.

“We were peaceful like our mountains,
You invaded like ferocious winds,
We confronted you like our mountains,
You growled fiercely like ferocious winds,
But we are eternal like our mountains,
You will die out like ferocious winds.” 

The basis of a strong state is a traditional family, Homeland Party leader Artur Vanetsyan, the prime ministerial candidate of the “Salute of Honor and Respect” bloc, said at the ceremony of signing a memorandum on the formation of the electoral alliance with the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) on Saturday, congratulating the Armenian people on the International Day of Families celebrated on 15 May.

Vanetsyan said today is a very important and responsible day for them, noting as a result of long discussions, his Homeland Party and the RPA have decided to team up, form an alliance and jointly run in the upcoming snap parliamentary elections in Armenia, based on a common vision aimed at developing and strengthening the homeland.

“Over the past few days, we talked a lot about the formation of an alliance between the Homeland Party and RPA, what unites us and the possible ways to get our country out of this nightmare. We will talk a lot about this in the future, we will try to do everything possible so that every citizen of Armenia knows what programs we are going to implement after coming to power,” Vanetsyan said.

He noted at the same time that the alliance attaches importance to listing all the problems that concern the Armenian people. According to him, this process will make it possible to include all problems and ways to resolve them in these programs.

“We are sure that the pre-election period is not only for making promises and showing the advantage of a political force against its challengers. I consider it unacceptable to use the election campaign for such purposes, especially in the post-war period,” Vanetsyan said.

“There is an important thing that we all must realize: a significant part of our compatriots is mourning today, and we are all to blame for it – the people, the intelligentsia, the political elite. Due to the mistakes and omissions of all of us, a force came to power in Armenia, which ruined everything. We must clearly realize that we are facing a real threat of losing statehood and even annihilation,” he noted, citing the recent unhindered incursion of the Azerbaijani troops into Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces of Armenia.

Vanetsyan believes this threat against the Armenian statehood can be overcome only through bringing together all the opportunities of Armenia, using the whole potential of the Armenian people and taking consistent efforts.

“Believe me, until now no one has fully understood and shared the grief of our people. Problems are perceived differently by different strata of our society, we have started not to understand each other and not to take into account each other's opinions. As a result of manipulations, society has been divided into “black” and “white”, “old” and “new” groups. All this leads to a dead end. This cannot continue any longer. We will bring solidarity to Armenia, the formation of our bloc is a vivid proof of it,” he said, promising to take every effort to resolve everyone’s problems.   

The Council of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement on Saturday issued the following statement amid Azerbaijan’s incursion into Armenian territory:

“For several days, the Azerbaijani military has been occupying areas of strategic importance in Syunik and Gegharkunik Provinces.

The Armenian authorities are not only unable to prevent the occupation of our territories by the enemy, but have still not managed to remove the Azerbaijani troops from these territories.

All this is a continuation of the capitulation on November 10, 2020. After the signing of the surrender document and immediately after its entry into force, the Armenian authorities, violating even this document unacceptable for us, continued to cede new territories.

Later it turned out that secret documents were signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan, one of which was accidentally exposed in December 2020. Now, according to reliable information, there are also other documents signed on January 11, 2021.

On May 12, without facing the resistance of the Armenian side and breaching even the borders illegally drawn using GPS, the Azeri forces invaded and seized new territories of the Republic of Armenia which are of strategic importance. And there is no proportionate response from the Armenian authorities.

Nikol Pashinyan's motives to proceed with the criminal capitulation have no logical explanation, and the behavior of the Armenian president, who, by virtue of his position, is the head of state, protector and guarantor of the interests of our country, is also inexplicable.

The refusal of the authorities to give a commensurate response to the enemy who has invaded Armenian territory is explained by the fact that it could trigger a new large-scale war. However, the Armenian army is obliged to fulfill its direct duty to protect the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.

International experience shows that a policy of concessions to avoid minor clashes is the shortest path to a full-scale war (recall the 1938 Munich Agreement).

The army has responsibilities to obey the orders of the authorities and to defend the country. However, in the event of a contradiction between these two responsibilities, the army is obliged to choose the defense of the homeland, otherwise those responsible will be held accountable sooner or later.

If the army does not assume the responsibility for protecting the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia from the encroachments of the enemy, we must initiate a process of recruiting militias so that the people can take on the task of defending the country."