“Aravot” asked the “Heritage” faction MP Tevan Poghosyan whether the tension along with Armenia and Artsakh border in recent days could turn into a full-scale war. T. Poghosyan answered, “The war is not over ever since 1989 when the first operations began. Simply, there was a cease-fire agreement that from time to time was broke. We just need to be prepared, and always feel us as a country, which is involved in a war having various stages of activeness. This time so it happened. We have given our decent answer to these subversions. These two days, it is quiet, tomorrow the situation may again be strained, then, again quiet… you do not know… Changes are taking place in the world, there is an internal hysteria in Azerbaijan with regard to various people in the government and the issues. Their new minister of defense is trying to prove that he is able to do something… We have to realize all of that and be always ready by conducting right behavior and right steps.”
To our question of nevertheless, how do you assess the probability of beginning large-scale armed hostilities, big or small, the MP answered in the same way, “Probability with signed cease-fire between the countries of unfinished was is always available, but we cannot measure it in numbers or percentages, very little, big or small… Military actions can always be resumed, we just need to be prepared and by realizing everything, respond appropriately with our righteous steps and behavior by preventing them. We also need to realize that the international community is now busy with a variety of problems, every country will try to be guided by its own interests in the region, to push its own interests forward, and we based on our own interests should be able to solve our problems in a calm way and withstand the opponent. In addition, we should be able to move forward in Artsakh and Armenia by forming a step-by-step normal economy, increasing the power of the army, and forming a unified society.”
On August 8-9, the next meeting of presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan is planned in Sochi. Do you have any expectations? To this question of “Aravot”, Tevan Poghosyan replied, “The meetings should be applauded, it’s good that they are meeting, it’s better for them to meet and maybe fire at each other by words rather than the soldiers on the border. However, I do not expect anything with regard to solving the problem, because I consider these unfinished meetings a wrong format, and will not result in solution of the problem. Unless the representative of Artsakh, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is present at the meeting, to expect that there will be a major positive step, no. And if the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan could come to an agreement, like once, for example, they had signed the Maindorf Declaration that the societies need to meet and conduct mutual projects, or something else, be able to investigate the border incidents, it would be much better. But to expect more than that, I do not have, because Karabakh is not presented. If, of course, this meeting takes place at all.”
Melania BARSEGHYAN
