“From tomorrow on we will see whether it is possible to reduce the tension or not”, Head of the International Center for Human Development Tevan Poghosyan responded to the question of Aravot.am, as President Serzh Sargsyan announced after the Aliyev-Sargsyan meeting in Geneva, whether it will be possible to reduce the tensions in the border so that there are no victims.
He noted that this is proved not by words, but by actions. According to Tevan Poghosyan, if Azerbaijan will buy new weapons tomorrow, will not restrain its snipers again, how can we be sure that it tries to reduce tension? “There is no constancy in Aliyev’s words. Otherwise, he would declare, tomorrow I start to implement the agreements of Vienna and St. Petersburg, no further aggravation will occur, the next day he would say, I remove the idea of the blacklist, the following day you can operate the airport, I’ll remove my snipers. But if these are mere words, no actions, then those will remain to be just words. As of today, information only on one arrangement says nothing. There have been hundreds of agreements with Aliyev, which as we know have not been implemented. We are already tired of Azerbaijan’s empty words. If it takes actions, it will be possible to say that these words were true”.
In response to our remark, that judging from the photos published after the meeting, Serzh Sargsyan seemed to be in a good mood, Mr. Poghosyan said, “That is because the Armenian side was on a higher position in the negotiation, it is clear. And any negotiator, who is more confident in his strength, is in a better mood”.
Touching upon the OSCE Co-Chairs’ statement, Mr. Poghosyan considered it senseless and reminded, that before April 2016 the Co-Chairs also claimed that the negotiations were underway in a constructive atmosphere. According to Mr. Poghosyan, the history teaches us to rely only on our own power.
To respond to our question, whether the new agreement does not mean a retreat from the agreements of Vienna and St. Petersburg, Tevan Poghosyan assured that it can be interpreted in any way anyone wishes. About the current arrangement, he said, “Let actions speak. We will see the result of the arrangement, as Aliyev states that he had an agreement on new weapons, but he has realized that he has chosen to solve the problem peacefully”.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
