Levon Barseghyan, the chairman of the board of the Gyumri journalists’ club “Asparez,” recently visited Lachin Corridor to study the situation and make clarifications. However, they were not allowed to move forward from the beginning of the Lachin corridor, where the Armenian police station was located, explaining that they could not provide security. Mr. Barseghyan said in a conversation with Aravot am.
He added: “What has been said permissibly refers to the titular territory of the Republic of Armenia, the most extreme point of Goris region during the time of the former Soviet Union, from where the road entered the Lachin region at that time. I was also there in 1988. in March, the Azerbaijani police caught me, took me, kept me for several days, interrogated me, and left. At that point, there is a sign now that says in Russian: You are entering the Lachine Secure Corridor, which the Russian Federation guards. There was our police checkpoint with a ticket, and they said that they could not allow us to go forward. We explained that they would let us pass under our responsibility, but they said no. They have an order, and they cannot provide security. I insisted several times that we assume all possible risks related to our lives, and they said no, we can’t, but they promised to call their superiors and find out. We waited a long time. We went to Goris again; we came back. In the end, the Armenian authorities did not allow us to go past the police roadblock from where the first Russian guard post could be seen. It was about 1.5 kilometers away. Our last guard post was already 3 kilometers above the Tegh village of the Republic of Armenia. Some cars came from the first Russian guard post, opened the luggage, went to Goris, and returned.”
Levon Barseghyan told the police that a march from Armenia to Artsakh would soon be possible for peaceful people to come there. The Armenian policemen answered: we don’t know what will happen; maybe the Russians will permit them to pass. Seeing that they were not getting permission to move forward from the RA authorities, they met with the Artsakh residents who had taken refuge in Goris. They talked and delayed for a long time, having a purpose; in the end, they would allow them to go on foot to reach the first Russian guard post, but they would not allow it.
To our question: Are only Russian peacekeepers responsible for the situation in the Lachin Corridor? Levon Barseghyan said: “If you study the Pashinyan-Aliev-Putin document, which was signed at the suggestion of Russia, the content was developed by three parties, the wording says that the Russian peacekeeping group should ensure the uninterrupted operation of the corridor. That’s how I understand it; suppose some people, animals, or aliens come and block that corridor. With that statement, the Russian peacekeeping military unit must open the way to that life. No more, no less, without excess; it is the way of life to Artsakh. Armenians have yet to communicate with the world. And the Russian peacekeeping mission needs to fulfill one of its duties. During the past two years, we have witnessed that it still needs to be implemented. When we say it is not implemented, people think it is to spread some anti-Russian sentiment. Be a gentleman, fulfill your duties, and we will announce that you do your obligations.
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Two years ago, on these days, 76 Armenian fighters were captured in the zone of Russian responsibility. As written in that statement, the troops remain where they are at 24:00 on November 9. Why would they be captured, and the Russian forces would stand in between, as written in the paper? After that, the villages Parukh, Karaglukh, and Aghavno are in all these. The inactivity of the Russian peacekeeping forces, intentional or weak, makes no difference. Let them say whether it is our weakness or we did it intentionally, we are strong, but we allowed to occupy these settlements after the ceasefire.”
According to Levon Barseghyan, Russia does not have its previous power and capabilities to protect its political goals. “Russia wanted very much to have troops there. Russia wants the Soviet Union to restore the Russian Empire, but the Ukrainian war has completely broken the back of the Russian political machine. According to their propaganda, one does get such an impression. But the fact is that you are fighting for ten months to capture a territory that you hoped to capture in 3-7 days. And in fact, you could not bring Ukraine to its knees, and with all the consequences resulting from that, you received punishments, and your trade ties with the world were significantly severed. Now he wants to bypass those sanctions through Azerbaijan and Turkey, to sell oil and gas through Azerbaijan. The buyer will think it is Azerbaijani gas, not Russia. And Russia is forced to fulfill the will of Azerbaijan. What is the will of Azerbaijan to destroy Artsakh?
I don’t think Aliyev or anyone else thinks that there will be an Armenian in Artsakh who will agree to live in that territory with an Azerbaijani passport. As if there are people there who believe that Azerbaijan will ensure their security. There are no such people; I don’t even think Azerbaijan thinks there are such people there. Although Azerbaijan says that you will enjoy all the rights Azerbaijanis have, one may ask whether the people of Artsakh can enjoy the right to behead the people.
The inactivity of the Russian peacekeeping forces, intentional or weak, makes no difference. Let them say whether it is our weakness or we did it intentionally, we are strong, but we allowed these settlements after the ceasefire.” Levon Barseghyan believes that Russia has had more interest in Azerbaijan than in Armenia for a long time. That’s why Russia doesn’t want to fulfill its obligations. It is not difficult for them to remove the environmentalists called protestors, but they are doing the will of Azerbaijan. “Russia ripped off everything it could from Armenia and now has a lot to tear from Azerbaijan,” says Levon Barseghyan.
NUNE AREVSHATYAN
