Former Minister of Defense of Artsakh Samvel Babayan, who leads the Azatakan party’s proportional list, met with supporters at the Gyumri Textile Workers’ Club, choosing a question-and-answer format. He said that they do not go to the streets, hold rallies, or gather people, because it does not make sense. There are accumulated questions in the society, which must be answered by meetings.
One of the participants, non-partisan Tsolak Martirosyan, asked several questions to Samvel Babayan. One of the questions referred to Azerbaijan’s invitation to join the EAEU. Tsolak Martirosyan said, “We see that the Russian-Azerbaijani neighborly relations are already being considered, we can not say on what ground those best relations are. What position will Babayan and his party express if Azerbaijan joins the EAEU while Shushi and Hadrut are still occupied?
Can Azerbaijan be a member of the EAEU or not?” Samvel Babayan responded, “I have frequently said and will reiterate that Russia considers that at the expense of humiliating the Armenian side and territories, it can bring Azerbaijan to the EAEU. I assure you that Azerbaijan will not be the first to go. Today, the leadership of Azerbaijan is in the role of a sheikh. I do not think that a self-sufficient country with oil and gas, and without any financial problems, will enter Russia.
Russia is doing everything to try and take steps at our expense so that Azerbaijan enters its territory anyways. We will wait and see. I feel that it will never enter Russia, to begin. And if Azerbaijan enters the EAEU, what will Armenia do there? Armenia will have to withdraw, clear and simple. Second, when you talk about how they must return Hadrut, Shushi, and the other occupied territories, they will return them in the same way you handed over the 7 regions over the past 27 years. Don’t believe in those myths. Instead, get busy with strengthening our state, economy, and military. You will be the ones to do it; no one will do it for you. The world has been focusing on force for the past millennium, and it will do so for another millennium. The weak are the ones to blame in the eyes of the strong. And in 4.5 years, Azerbaijan will raise the issue of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Artsakh’s territory.
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How do we, as Armenia, as the state of Armenia, imagine that issue? We imagine that we should not rely on any other state. We should create a strong army, strong defense, and be ready for any action. We are talking about a professional army, not an amateur one. This is our approach to that issue. Although my team and I are sure that Azerbaijan will not go for it, it does not matter whether it does so or not. We must have a strong army. This is our position.”
Nune Arevshatyan
