According to Arman Melikyan, before the extraordinary elections and the formation of a new government, we should be ready for the new Sardarapat for every minute.
“If Mr. Hasanov has really made such a statement, it only indicates that in his opinion, at present, Azerbaijan’s army is not ready for hostilities, and from this point of view, they have much to do in order to reach the desired outcome”, said former Nagorno Karabakh Republic Foreign Minister Arman Melikyan, in response to the remark and question of “Aravot” that Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov stated that their goal is to prepare the army for war, whether this statement is dangerous, and whether what psychological impact it can have.
According to him, the number one problem of the Defense Ministry of any country is to have armed forces ready for war. Referring to the psychological point, Mr. Melikyan assured that the effectiveness of such speeches of the Azerbaijani Defense Minister on the Armenian Armed Forces will be zero: “Nevertheless, regardless of what Hasanov says, our armed forces should be ready for resumption of hostilities at any moment”. In response to the question whether such statements voiced by Azerbaijan are connected with the recent events taking place in Armenia, Arman Melikyan said: “I think Azerbaijan anticipates that they will face serious problems in the framework of the conflict negotiation process soon, and they are trying to prepare their own people and the international community for war”.
In response to the question whether the recent developments around Manvel Grigoryan and concerns raised in some circles may have a negative impact in the sense that Azerbaijan may take advantage of it, as after all Manvel Grigoryan was an Artsakh hero, Arman Melikyan said that Azerbaijan is perhaps well aware that a generation change among officers of armed forces of Armenia and Artsakh has taken place over the past two decades after the Artsakh war: our new heroes showed their heroism during the military operations in April 2016: “After all I am sure that Baku clearly realizes that they are not fighting against individual heroes, but patriotic fighters of well-trained army. I only wish for our political leadership to be adequate too in its behavior and actions, truly to support Armenian soldiers”.
Let us note that the Press Secretary of the Armenian Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Hovhannisyan, commenting on such statements made by the Azerbaijani side, expressed an opinion that they are the same for years. From his words it became clear that there is no specific need to worry about it. We inquired from Arman Melikyan whether the situation is really the same or the reality has changed. The latter responded: “The situation has changed politically and if the war is resumed, the number of Azerbaijan’s supporters may have been more than before.
Before the extraordinary elections and the formation of a new government, we should be ready for the new Sardarapat for every minute”.
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
