President Sargsyan: Armenia doesn’t want situation escalation but will confront operations against its citizens, borders and Karabakh

YEREVAN, June 7./ ARKA/. Armenia doesn’t wish to see escalation of the situation, however will not stay reticent in case the operations are directed against its citizens, state borders and Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan said on Thursday. 

Over the last few days the skirmishes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border as well as in the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijani forces resulted in deaths of soldiers. 

The attempts of the Azerbaijani saboteurs to infiltrate Armenia’s north-eastern Tavush region bordering Azerbaijan as well as Nagorno-Karabakh borders caused in 25 deaths of Azeri soldiers. The Armenian and Karabakh army lost four soldiers, eight were wounded.

“The Armed Forces of Armenia are strictly instructed to be continent and vigilant, and at the same time to curb any provocation of the enemy and chastise for it. I believe that the international community and the population of Azerbaijan understand who the responsibility for deaths lies on,” the press service quotes Sargsyan.

The President highlighted that the loss of each Armenian soldier is the loss of the whole Armenian nation.

“We are all mourning with the families of the killed soldiers. And neither of our responses to the opponent can adequately soothe our grief,” he added.

The Head of State noted that he had warned Azerbaijan of the dangers that can arise from the provocations on the contact line and unavoidable firm response. 

“Either these provocations were initiated by the Azerbaijani authorities, and in these case only they are personally responsible for breaking the international cease-fire commitments, either the Armed Forces of this country are out of control , and in this case we should be ready to deal with some individual warlords and not the army in general,” he said.

According to Sargsyan, the Armenian side has no reason to apply to force, “as we think that Nagorno-Karabakh matter cannot be settled by using force, it can be only resolved through talks and be based on the self-determination right of the peoples of Artsakh (Armenian name for Karabakh).” 

“And the population should be ready for peace, and this has been stated by OSCE Minks Group co-chairmen for many times. In that way we can move forward. The Azeri side continues applying to the absolutely opposite approach, promoting xenophobia as means to distract people’s attention from the home issues of the country,” Sargsyan clarified. 

The President also stated it was especially sad that the provocative operations were launched when initiated by Russia Armenian and Azeri intellectuals were having a meeting in Moscow directed to enhancing trust as well as the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s was on her regional visit to the South Caucasus. 

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh broke out in 1988 after the predominantly Armenian-populated Karabakh declared about secession from Azerbaijan. 

As Azerbaijan declared its independence from the Soviet Union and removed the powers held by the Karabakh’s government, the Armenian majority voted in 1991, December 10, to secede from Azerbaijan and in the process proclaimed the enclave the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh. Full-scale fighting, initiated by Azerbaijan, erupted in the late winter of 1992. International mediation by several groups including Europe's OSCE’s failed to bring an end resolution that both sides could work with. In the spring of 1993, Armenian forces got control over outside the enclave itself. By the end of the war in 1994, the Armenians were in full control of most of the enclave and also held and currently control seven regions beyond the administrative borders of Nagorno-Karabakh. Almost 1 million people on both sides have been displaced as a result of the conflict. A Russian- -brokered ceasefire was signed in May 1994 and peace talks, mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, have been held ever since by Armenia and Azerbaijan. -0-