“It is a normal practice, if you are watchful, now, in all European countries, such events are underway”, such opinion was expressed by Head of RA MFA Arms Control and International Security Department, Samvel Mkrtchyan, in the interview with Aravot.am and “1in News”, referring to the agreements reached between the RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan and his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu on holding a parade of Russian army in Yerevan on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the World War II. Mr. Mkrtchyan said that it is done for the purpose to call the attention on the hazards of the war to prevent them in the future.
To the question of Aravot.am of whether it is not an offense for the sovereign state and whether it does not prove that most likely these moves will be followed by deployment of the Russian army on Karabakh-Azerbaijan border, Mr. Mkrtchyan replied, “Russian army has long been in Armenia on our own accord. As for the border-related issue, you have heard that the Ambassador said that a political normalization process of the Karabakh conflict is underway, and when the principles of the political settlement are determined, the issue of multinational peacekeeping operation will also be discussed based on them. There was also the statement by Karabakh defense minister, in which he said that he does not see the need for it. Over the past twenty years, the maintenance of the cease-fire showed that the Karabakh Defense Army is also the best guarantor for peace.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
P.S. Note that Armenia’s Defense Ministry Spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan had said that there would be no parade in Armenia in participation of Russian Armed Forces.
