Former Minister of Defense and the Head of the “Armenia” faction of the National Assembly, Seyran Ohanyan, spoke to Aravot about the attack of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the direction of Sotk and Norabak and the ongoing processes. According to Seyran Ohanyan, the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem continues to pressurize the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh. “It is obvious that the authorities that lost are under pressure. And no matter how hard they try to present to our public that they are acting with their peace agenda, it is clear that it is not so. Since 2020, talking and organizing aggression with this method of coercion both in Artsakh and on the borders of the Republic of Armenia has become a way of working for Azerbaijanis.
And they will continue this until they reach their goal. Their goal is to tighten the ring around Armenia and Artsakh and to depopulate Artsakh. As for the issue of Armenia, let the Armenian people not know that this is only the issue of Artsakh; this is an Armenian issue. They will continue the pressure, first of all, to get a corridor in the Syunik sector,” said Seyran Ohanyan.
He said, “The weaker we are, Azerbaijan will continue to put pressure on us. When we become powerful and see our capabilities, they will be cautious in carrying out actions against us. And the only author of our strengthening is us; the Armenian people should think about preserving their identity, their defense, and the strengthening of their borders.
Of course, foreign policy, raising the issue on international platforms, and smart negotiations are guarantees, but the first guarantee is restoring our security system. And only the authorities can do that. If the authorities do not do this, the authorities should be removed,” he added.
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According to Seyran Ohanyan, a wise person learns from the mistakes of others. A less intelligent person also sometimes makes mistakes himself and learns from his mistakes. “But when those mistakes are repeated… We see the series of mistakes since 2018, first in the negotiation process, then the border situation in Tavush, then the conflicting actions of the RA authorities in the Republic of Artsakh during the war, after the fighting stopped when the Armenian units withdrew from the positions where the war was stopped without firing a single shot. I mean both in Syunik and Gegharkunik region. The series of failures and defeats continues; parallel to this, the authorities hold international high-level weightlifting competitions, organize international level pan-Armenian games, pave roads, increase internal troops, the National Security Service, and equip them. In other words, if there is a desire, if these authorities can correctly evaluate the reality and determine our top problems and priorities, if they implement a measure, are they not able to strengthen the defense of our state and replenish the army at a fast pace?
Moreover, the army is the first and most organized structure, which can restore its fighting ability if well supported. In other words, they organize in one place but don’t type in other areas. That is not a problem of illiteracy but a problem of unwillingness. And if they don’t want to strengthen the defense, it means that all this is being done on purpose,” he said.
Roza HOVHANNISYAN
