They blame it all on the peacekeepers: “Why weren’t decisions made in time? Why is the border not completely closed?” says Seyran Ohanyan.
“It was not in the interests of Armenia. I’m surprised that some people do not understand how cunning Azerbaijan is,” said Seyran Ohanyan, a member of the Armenia faction in the National Assembly and former Minister of Defense, referring to the fact that a mirror retreat should have taken place in Artsakh’s Askeran region, but Azerbaijan made progress in Karaglukh. According to Ohanyan, in all cases except the last war, the Azerbaijani side has always asked to stop the war or operations in war situations, and then regrouped to “resort to new provocations.”
“They should not have taken such a step, not being sure that Azerbaijan would withdraw, especially since the villages of Parukh and Khramort are on the border. To just believe that․․․ Khnapat is a little behind. It is a big mistake to believe in Azerbaijan. I am not aware that the Russian side offered to withdraw, but if there is such an offer, first it is necessary to understand that in case of any step back, you consider the opponent- has it withdrawn or not?” According to him, if Azerbaijan had not withdrawn from the mentioned section, and the Armenian side did, then even in that case it was necessary to maintain the ability to reorganize quickly, to do opposite actions, in order to be able to “sit” in the leading positions.
Read also
“Conditions for peaceful coexistence with Azerbaijanis have not been created. Going to peace without preconditions, without a correct assessment of the situation, is unacceptable for the Armenian side, for the government of Armenia and Artsakh,” Ohanyan said. “If it seemed to us that the enemy would lag behind the eviction of Armenians from Artsakh, then it is not so. Whoever knows the Turks and Azerbaijanis should understand how cunning they are, but this is not understood by the RA-Artsakh authorities. This is unacceptable especially in the case of the Artsakh government. Azerbaijan will try to occupy strategic positions with pressure in order to continue the pressure on the people of Artsakh from those areas. The steps of the RA government in this regard are unacceptable. There should have been serious cooperation between Armenia and Russia, and in Artsakh, between the “peacekeeping units” of the Defense Army. The problems of these two should have been clarified – all open places, especially in the places of civilian existence, in the border areas, in the areas of Parukh, Khnapat, Khramort, should have been closed,” he stressed. According to him, “The government is responsible for the situation, and the residents must demand quick measures.
The first is the national guarantee – the security system, the power structures. And the international guarantees are the system of wide involvement, especially the Russian peacekeeping mission.” In response to the fact that the deputy of the ruling faction Eduard Aghajanyan pointed blame at the peacekeeping mission, Seyran Ohanyan said, “I am surprised that our government, which did not conclude from at least two facts, did not back down from its own mistake. Turkish-Azerbaijani cunning will always advance its interests through tactical tricks, and the victims will be the citizens. Why weren’t decisions made in time? Why is the border not completely closed? Why is the security of the border residents not ensured?
Everyone can blame all this on the peacekeepers. The RA government blames everything on someone else, except that they do not do anything. The RA Ministry of Defense and the Defense Army have all the capabilities to make quick decisions to replenish their forces. Either they do not demand this or they have not received clear orders from the RA government.”
Seyran Ohanyan stated that Armenia cooperates with Russia, but it has its own capabilities. “Countries that are not able to ensure security on their own have serious problems with sovereignty. As for the increase in the number of peacekeepers, we suggested that after the end of the mission, if one of the parties wants to stay, then they should stay and cooperate with law enforcement agencies to ensure the security of Artsakh. Now we have to work seriously with the Russian leadership and the heads of the Armed Forces.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
