“The NSS has already presented an official statement regarding Paylasar,” Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan said in response to journalists’ questions in the National Assembly on Tuesday. Anna Grigoryan, a member of the opposition Armenia faction, recently posted on her social network page that Paylasar Hill had been handed over to the enemy.
The Deputy Minister of Defense refused to answer journalists’ questions, saying that they would contain elements of state secrets and assured that neither the Ministry of Defense nor any other relevant body was hiding anything that could be made public. He did not answer the questions of whether there is an Armenian base in Paylasar or not or whether journalists can visit, and urged everyone to follow the official news. Anna Grigoryan also asked a similar question to Arman Sargsyan during the session of parliament.
“Recently, I asked a question about the transfer of a certain part or the entirety of Paylasar to Azerbaijani control. The NSS shared a message, not delving into the content of the original statement, saying that the border troops continue to protect the state border in the mentioned section. As far as I know, the Azerbaijanis got there through a GPS device, and they were deployed there without a clear delimitation. When did the delimitation take place that we did not witness? What state border is in question in the Paylasar portion? Why does the NSS talk about the state border when the state border has not been established yet? In the end, it legitimizes the fact that the Azerbaijanis are in the right position where they were supposed to be at the moment.”
The Deputy Minister answered, “If you see certain contradictions in that answer, I think the NSS will ease your concerns or provide clear commentary. There was no demarcation and delimitation of the state border, which you also know. It has been repeatedly stated in public speeches that even a final delimitation did not take place between Armenia and Georgia. These have been controversial issues for years. It is not good that we have already started discussing such topics today. As far as maps, the majority of people say this year’s map, some people say this map is approved, the other is not approved. But let me say that the process of demarcation and delimitation has not taken place yet.” Arman Sargsyan added, “Even if the NSS did something wrong, now you’ve legitimized it.”
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In response to the journalists’ observation that the RA Human Rights Defender had recently issued a statement that the Azerbaijani armed forces were carrying out fortification works in the Armenian territories, the Deputy Defense Minister said that he will not respond to the Human Rights Defender, and he said that if the Human Rights Defender published the statement, it is necessary to receive commentary from the Defender. He also refrained from presenting information about the preparations for the winter service in the Armenian positions.
Nelly Grigoryan
