Politics 13:05 30/07/2020 Armenia

Robert Kocharyan: Armenia suppressed Azerbaijan's desire to improve its positions for first time in two years

Armenia’s second President Robert Kocharyan reacted to the latest clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border in an interview to the Fifth Channel, Armenian Second TV Channel and Yerkir Media on Wednesday, noting that Azerbaijan had tried to improve its position in that part of the border.

"The Armenian forces not only repelled those attempts, but also, by delivering a worthy counterattack, improved their positions,” he said. “I think that our military gave a proper, timely, quick and adequate retaliation. Afterwards, trying to return to the previous situation, Azerbaijan started shelling Armenian villages, using artillery and drones. And, in fact, the local battle turned into a larger-scale military operation. This is a very brief description of the latest happenings.”

“Now, why was Azerbaijan's reaction to that local incident so, so to speak, painful? You know, we have to look through all this in the context of the past two years; what was going on at the border, what was going on at the Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact. In fact, for the first time we suppressed Azerbaijan's desire to improve its positions. The advantage position is crucial…Therefore it is very important to always think about improving and strengthening the positions on the frontline, which, unfortunately, we failed to do for the past 2 years,” Kocharyan stated.

The ex-president says during his tenor the Armenian army was always faced with the task of improving its positions, adding the essential strengthening of the positions started in those years.

"Every year I visited the frontline, mainly in Karabakh, to make an annual program of the works that had to be done on the border. Every year we invested our best efforts into improving the positions, building the second and then the third defensive echelons. This is a daily job and should be like that,” he stressed. “The army leadership knew that everywhere, in every section, if they had the opportunity to improve and strengthen their positions, it was their sacred duty and obligation to do so without thinking twice. This was always the case.”

Kocharyan next linked the escalation of border tensions with Armenia’s foreign policy. “The first conclusion, perhaps, is the following: it turned out that Azerbaijan’s president is not so constructive, Azerbaijan is not so peace-loving and the people of Azerbaijan are not so ready for peace,” he said. “Even during the 1991-94 war, such clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis never took place in Moscow or the United States. Now we need to fix two very important facts. Today we have not only a revanchist government but also a revanchist people in Azerbaijan. These two factors converge to increase the possibility of a renewed war. We must understand that there is no specific formula to address the people or pin hopes on the constructivism of the [Azerbaijani] government. The Armenian authorities must today admit that they have pursued wrong policies over the issue during these two years and the risk for a renewed war is greater now than two years ago.” 

Addressing the foreign policy pursued by the incumbent Armenian authorities in the interview, the ex-president said that there is no clear characteristic that would describe Armenia's current foreign policy.

"I do not know, there is no characteristic, it’s more of a spontaneous and situational nature, depending on the moods, a specific person, the government, maybe weather, I do not understand the content of today's foreign policy. In order to pursue the right foreign policy, we need to understand what is happening around the world," he said.

According to Robert Kocharyan, now that trend has changed, and people consider that the diversity of civilizations and cultures is the driving force and value of this planet, which is worth fighting for.

"Today there is a different trend in the world focused on fighting for national values, and the leaders in this process are Russia and China, which have a great civilization potential, a very powerful culture and in whose identity their culture and history play a major role,” the former president stated.

“Most of the incumbent authorities came from NGOs formed from the second track of globalization, pursuing that policy and taking the whole country to where everyone is now running away from. These disputes about national values, the attitude towards the church, which are extremely important components of the identity of different nations, stem from the efforts to remove all this from our culture, from our educational programs.

“Even the results of all European elections come to show that the national forces are improving their positions. There are countries where those forces are already in power,” the second president stressed.



Source Panorama.am
Share |

Related news

Տեքստում սխալ կամ վրիպակ նկատելու դեպքում, ուղարկեք խմբագրին հաղորդագրություն` նշելով տվյալ սխալը, այնուհետև սեղմելով Ctrl-Enter:

Newsfeed

17:18
Pashinyan again criticizes Armenia's Declaration of Independence
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has again blasted the 1990 Declaration of Independence, claiming that its content hinders...
16:56
14 November is World Diabetes Day
World Diabetes Day is observed annually on November 14 to raise global awareness about diabetes, a significant public health challenge...
16:38
Showers possible in Yerevan on the weekend
Clear weather is expected in Armenia on Thursday and Friday, the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center reports. Rain and snow are forecast...
16:16
Lawyer: Not a single anti-torture group has been allowed to visit Armenian prisoners
23 Armenians are officially confirmed by Azerbaijan to be in its custody, says human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan, who represents Armenian...
15:28
Armenia's stance on CSTO unchanged, Foreign Ministry says
Armenia’s position on its membership in the Moscow-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) remains unchanged, Foreign Ministry...
14:46
At least 20 aid workers killed in Gaza in a month
Israel has killed at least 20 aid workers in Gaza over the past month, humanitarian groups told Al Jazeera, as it continues its relentless war...
14:27
Lawyer: At least seven Armenian women tortured to death by Azeri soldiers in 2020
Azerbaijan is using the COP29 UN climate summit both to “greenwash” and “peacewash” its global image, says Anna...
13:36
Expert: Armenia very vulnerable to climate change
Climate change expert Irina Ghaplanyan warned of Armenia’s vulnerability to climate change as she addressed a conference titled “The...
13:01
Gurgen Arsenyan attends Lavrov's meeting with CSTO ambassadors
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday held a meeting in Moscow with ambassadors and permanent and plenipotentiary...
12:36
Extreme hypocrisy: Greta Thunberg slams COP29 in Azerbaijan
Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Thursday attended a conference titled “The Impact of Azerbaijan’s Aggression on...
11:55
Impact of Azeri aggression on environmental protection: COP29 side event kicks off in Yerevan
Yerevan is hosting a conference titled “The Impact of Azerbaijan’s Aggression on Human Rights and Environmental...
11:34
French ecology minister hits back at Aliyev
France's ecology minister pulled out of the COP29 climate talks in Azerbaijan Wednesday after its authoritarian leader accused France of...
11:22
Two Armenian players among leaders at European Individual Chess Championship
The European Individual Chess Championship 2024 continues in Petrovac, Montenegro. After the 6th round, the sole leader is Serbian GM...
11:00
Who are Trump's latest Cabinet picks?
US President-elect Donald Trump has chosen former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard to serve as his director of national intelligence....
17:07
Defense minister: Armenia has no plans to use military to reclaim occupied lands
Armenia has no plans to reclaim around 200 square kilometers of land currently under Azerbaijani occupation by military means, Defense...
16:50
Acba bank and American Express expand collaboration in Armenia
Acba bank and American Express have announced an expansion of their long-standing agreement which grants Acba the license to issue American...
16:34
Yerevan theater staff protests outside HRD office
Employees of Yerevan’s Goy Theater on Wednesday held a protest outside the office of Armenia’s human rights defender (HRD),...
16:03
Lemkin Institute slams COP29 participants for silence over Artsakh genocide
The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has responded to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's remarks at the COP29 UN climate summit in...
15:46
Strong winds expected in Armenia on Saturday
Clear weather is expected in Armenia on Wednesday and in the next two days, the Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center reports. Rain and...
15:28
Council of Europe committee urges Armenia to close Nubarashen Prison
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) has published today the report on...
14:58
Yerevan municipal employees remanded in custody
Four people, including three officials, have been detained for two months as part of a criminal probe into corruption at Yerevan's Kentron...
14:25
Bus carrying wedding guests falls into river in northern Pakistan
A bus carrying about two dozen wedding guests fell into the Indus River in northern Pakistan on Tuesday, killing at least 18 people, AP...
14:15
Opposition resolution calls for immediate release of Armenian prisoners held in Baku
The opposition Hayastan and Pativ Unem factions in the Armenian parliament introduced a resolution calling for the immediate release of all...
13:36
Russian gas supply to Armenia suspended
Russian natural gas supply to Armenia has been temporarily halted due to emergency repairs on the Kazakh-Saguramo pipeline in Georgia. In a...
13:15
John Krasinski named People's Sexiest Man Alive
People magazine has named John Krasinski the 2024 Sexiest Man Alive. Krasinski was revealed to be the newest winner of the honorable title...
12:55
'No Armenian is safe': Ruben Vardanyan's son urges action on political prisoners held in Baku
In a heartfelt and compelling video, David Vardanyan, the son of Armenian humanitarian and former Artsakh State Minister Ruben Vardanyan,...
12:30
Armenian FM, Stockholm City Council chair discuss cooperation opportunities
On November 12, within the framework of his visit to Sweden, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with President of the Stockholm City...
12:05
Azerbaijan, the rogue state hosting COP29: Artak Beglaryan's interview to Le Figaro
Artak Beglaryan, president of the Artsakh Union, former State Minister and Human rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Artsakh, gave an interview...
11:45
Trump names Elon Musk to lead new 'government efficiency' department
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said Tuesday he's tapped tech billionaire Elon Musk, Tesla and SpaceX CEO, and former Republican...
11:30
Armenia's Aleks Sahakyan to be awarded IM title
Armenian chess player Aleks Sahakyan overcame the 2400 rating threshold within the framework of the World Youth Chess Championship and will be...

Follow us and get updates!

Most popular articles

{"core.blocks.header.spell_message1":"Selected mistake: ","core.blocks.header.spell_message2":"Send a message about the mistake?"}