“I have not heard any official statement about the deployment of troops by the Iranian ground forces on the sovereign territory of Armenia. And I strongly doubt that the Iranian leadership will make such an official statement because it is inadmissible without the invitation of the Armenian authorities, and I strongly doubt it, it is simply impossible,” former President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said during the panel discussion titled “Post-War Armenia: What Steps Should Be Taken?” as part of the Republicans: Continuing Reforms conference.
The question addressed to the President referred to information circulating on the Internet that Iran may send troops to the territory of the Republic of Armenia without the consent of the Armenian authorities. “Iran is definitely concerned about the current situation, and it has the right to be concerned because Armenia is one of the few ways Iran is connected to the world. Iran is interested in stability and the rule of national forces in Armenia. Not nationalist, but national. And I do not think it will go beyond military exercises,” said Serzh Sargsyan.
Answering another question, Serzh Sargsyan stated that foreign forces have not finished their work in Armenia. “Since the foreign forces were not united, now they are carefully looking for whom the capitulator will deceive. As soon as they see that they are being deceived, those foreign forces will no longer be our opponents. I am not saying that they will support us, but they will not be opponents. They will be objective. Why do I say that? Because today there is no objective attitude to the events taking place in Armenia. If it were objective, it would have only been for one thing- that so-called insults, but in reality the harsh criticism, was criminalized in Armenia. Many structures, starting from the Council of Europe, should have shown their attitude. I will not even mention how deputies were deprived of their immunity without the consent of the parliament or how the judiciary was forced to completely submit to them. If we did 10% of what they did, they would have made 10 announcements. This means that they are still tolerating it and they are waiting to see if their expectations will be fulfilled or not. But we do not have that much time to wait, because time is not working in our favor,” said the third president.
Nelly Grigoryan
