“By saying escalations, we don’t mean large-scale hostilities” (video)
Today at the NA after the secret sitting of the Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs, during which the tense situation on the border was discussed, President of the Committee Koryun Nahapetyan told the journalists that they will unite the efforts of the Government, the MFA, the DM, in order to present clearly the position and expectations of Armenia. He thinks that by analyzing the situation, the cases of the ceasefire violations by the Azerbaijani side, it is assumed that the situation will become tenser in the future and bigger escalations are possible, “The Azerbaijani side uses large caliber weapons including 60 mm, 80 mm, 120 mm, increase in the number is noticed at the line of contact, peaceful settlements are bombed by Azerbaijan. Parliamentarians also have their share to participate in this fight and in that sense we must regularly hold consultations with the DM and the MFA to be aware of the situation immediately and to combine our activities and actions.” Mr. Nahapetyan made his speech more concrete by noting that when they say escalations, they don’t mean large-scale hostilities, “In this situation we should review our strategy, there will be not only response actions, but also attacking, preventive military operations.” Mr. Nahapetyan opposed the remark by “A1+” that the lawmakers announce about the combination of efforts with the executive power, while the MFA has been passive during these days and hasn’t made any public step, “The MFA performs its functions and I won’t assess it as passiveness, if it is needed, the response will be in time and with the content, which is considered to be appropriate by the MFA.” He also touched upon the statement of Serzh Sargsyan that by saying the RA, we should understand that the NKR is an inseparable part of it. Won’t it give rise to problems in diplomatic and negotiations processes? “The process of negotiations cannot be endangered in the context of that statement. Naturally, the RA is the guarantor of the NKR security, in that framework the RA will always perform its mission. The international community should understand that the equals sign shouldn’t be put between the sides, when the adversary violates the ceasefire regime, isn’t prone to creation of investigation mechanisms of the situation, to remove snipers from the line of contact, our actions must be considered in that logic.” Koryun Nahapetyan also touched upon another statement by Serzh Sargsyan at the UN Summit on Peacekeeping Operations. Mr. Nahapetyan doesn’t reject that there haven’t been concrete stresses, but he urges to take into account where it has been announced, “To make a speech at a summit, which agenda is dedicated to the peacekeeping mission, it wouldn’t be right to break that format.”
