Armenian military being withdrawn from Artsakh – Security Council Secretary
YEREVAN, July 19. /ARKA/. Armenian military deployed to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in the autumn of 2020 to assist its Defense Army to repel the Azerbaijani aggression are returning to Armenia, the Secretary of Security Council Armen Grigoryan said in an interview with Armenpress news agency.
He said no conscripts from Armenia will be sent to have their mandatory 24-month military service in Artsakh but the conscripts from Nagorno- Karabakh will be still enlisted in its Defense Army.
In a comment on accusations that the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh makes it defenseless Grigoryan said: "When Azerbaijan attacked Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 autumn, a number of Armenian military units were sent to Nagorno-Karabakh to assist its Defense Army. After the ceasefire was established and a Russian peacekeeping contingent was deployed in Artsakh, it is quite natural for the Armenian troops to withdraw from it."
According to him, the deployment of Russian peacekeeping forces in Nagorno-Karabakh indicates that the Russian Federation recognizes the existential danger to the ethnic Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and peacekeeping forces are of key importance in ensuring their security.
He said also that the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno-Karabakh will be completed in September. As for Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army, it was in Nagorno- Karabakh and still is there, Grigoryan reiterated.
He said also both in the past and at present, contract servicemen will also serve in the Artsakh Defense Army along with conscripts.
"Contract soldiers from Armenia are not drafted into the Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. If necessary, Nagorno-Karabakh will organize the recruitment of contractors locally," Grigoryan said.
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 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-
