Today, the President Armen Sargsyan had a regular working meeting with the Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the presidential residence. Armen Sargsyan and Nikol Pashinyan discussed issues related to the current agenda of the country, current issues and development programs.
Referring to the recent events in Tavush, the President noted that a few days ago he was in Tavush, in the village of Chinari.
"I was very happy with the spirit of the people. People were very confident, full of energy, optimism. It was not only the elderly citizens, but also the small children. I returned with confidence that our citizens stand firmly by the soldiers, by our army. So, there, Mr. Prime Minister, I express my support to the government, to You personally, to our Ministry of Defense, to our army, I am ready to do everything", the President said.
In his speech, the Prime Minister Pashinyan noted that what happened in Tavush was an open aggression by Azerbaijan against the sovereign territory of Armenia. But it can be stated that the military rhetoric developed by the Azerbaijani leadership for many years created such a propaganda myth that the Azerbaijani army has an advantage over the Armenian army and can solve any issue very quickly, in a very short local incident. That myth completely collapsed.
"In my opinion it creates a completely new geopolitical-military-political situation in our region. This greatly strengthens Armenia's, let me say, traditional position. And that traditional position has been fully maintained here by all the authorities and governments of Armenia. The Karabakh issue has no military solution, it can be resolved exclusively by peaceful means. In other words, it is a reality that must be taken into account", said the Prime Minister.
Pashinyan stressed that the Armenian Armed Forces are ready to preserve the territorial integrity of our country, the borders, noting that the huge reforms that have taken place in the Armed Forces over the past two and a half years, which have been our government's priorities, have paid off.
"And I am glad that time was not wasted there, we were able to record concrete results", he said.
"I completely agree with you that the attack of Azerbaijan can have no human moral explanation", the President agreed.
"When the whole world and we are fighting against one common enemy, the coronavirus, Azerbaijan decides to go on an adventure. For me, someone who has many years of experience and follows Azerbaijani, Turkish, European and Russian policy, there are several factors that worry me.
First of all, the moral boundary that they crossed by going on such an adventure in the coronavirus.
My second concern is that Azerbaijan is trying to create the impression that Armenia is a threat to international infrastructure passing through Azerbaijan. This is absolute nonsense. These infrastructures have been in place for more than 20 years, and Armenia has never shown any intention to destroy them.
Their propaganda is aimed at presenting Armenia as an aggressor, which is giving them the opportunity to use their leitmotif to take aggressive steps tomorrow. I am proud to say again that our armed forces were at the highest level", said Armen Sargsyan.
"I am proud to say again that our armed forces were at the highest level. I remember well. When I was ambassador to many European countries in the early 1990s, including NATO, many diplomats and military experts told me that your struggle was in vain. You are a small country, you do not have an army, Azerbaijan has a huge army, it has support from the neighboring country. The same people told me a few years later that Armenia has the most powerful army in the South Caucasus.
I would like to remind again that these recent events have shown that Armenia has the most powerful army in the South Caucasus, which cannot be defeated. The army is not only the weapons, discipline and readiness, but also the spirit that no one in the region has. I was very happy that those people's suspicions about the Armenian army have been dispelled, Sargsyan said.
The next concern of the President is the official statements from the Azerbaijani state apparatus that Azerbaijan may strike the Metsamor nuclear power plant.
"This is inadmissible by all international norms. I have been a member and chairman of the World Energy Security Commission, which considered such statements to be calls for nuclear terrorism.
I think that those who make such calls should understand very well that this great stupidity can turn into a great tragedy for everyone, not only for Armenia. The international community should make categorical statements so that such irresponsible statements do not continue. Turkey's bellicose statements are also unacceptable. Turks should not forget that their native state is the author of our Great Genocide 105 years ago. Therefore, any such statement calls for a return to the history of 105 years ago, which is inadmissible not only for our people, but for all mankind in general.
"These are difficult days, but these days our people have once again shown in Tavush that they stand firmly on their feet", he said.
Armen Sargsyan added that the President of the Republic in all directions, the institution of the President, the friends of the President are ready to support the government in overcoming the difficulties.
