A member of the NSS Reserve Officers’ Union NGO and former deputy director of the National Security Service, Armen Abrahamyan, considers it dangerous to leave demarcation work to the military. During the NSS Reserve Officers’ Union NGO press conference, he said, “After February 9th, a new border was formed in Armenia from the coast of Araks to Sotk in Vardenis, which has not been clarified yet. We cannot say how much is left of the 29,000 kilometers. What is taking place today at the border is simply wrong. We have heard statements made by the authorities several times that soldiers are carrying out the demarcation efforts. That is not how demarcation is done.”
In his opinion, demarcation efforts must be carried out by an interstate commission under the leadership of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. “That is diplomatic work to begin with, which also needs to include representatives of the cadastre and geodesy institutions, as well as Armenia’s top experts. To leave it up to the soldiers to decide upon armed issues and border lines is wrong. It can bring about unpredictable consequences. That is a political issue to begin with. The issue of the borders is so serious that it cannot be left to the soldiers.”
Armen Abrahamyan added that it is absolutely impossible to carry out demarcation efforts with Azerbaijanis at this time. The presence of a mediating country is necessary.
Tatev Harutyunyan
