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ARMENIA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO PREEMPTIVE STRIKES- PRESIDENT
YEREVAN, January 26. / ARKA /. Speaking today at a meeting of army
brass, devoted to the 23rd anniversary of Armenian armed forces,
president Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia reserves the right to pre-emptive
strikes in case of 'dangerous amassment of Azerbaijan troops along
the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia's border.'
"We have no reason to wage a war, we do not provoke clashes and we
never show aggression, we do not need it, however, we retaliate
and will retaliate to all provocations of the Azerbaijani side,"
Sargsyan said.
He said until recently the response of the Armenian side was
symmetrical in form and asymmetrical in terms of casualties.
"We have witnessed a lot of aggressive actions of the enemy this year.
We sustained painful losses for which we grieve. I think no one doubts
that Azerbaijan will pay dearly for the life of each of our guys.
They paid dearly, and will pay dearly in the future," said the
president.
He said the purpose of the aggressive actions of the enemy is to
create a constant tension around us by the combination of political
and military means.
"This policy is a simple blackmail, designed for the international
community rather than Armenia," said Sargsyan.
According to him, Azerbaijani authorities are ready to send to death
hundreds and hundreds of their citizens to only keep their posts,
"but we can not allow this to happen at the expense of the lives of
our citizens and our soldiers. This can not be done at our expense."
"We are convinced that the right way is to negotiate and to continue
negotiations to reach an agreement on the basis of known principles,
and this is possible only in conditions of maintaining the cease-fire
and building bridges of trust," said the president.
"I once again declare publicly- we are ready for the good and for
the bad. On my desk there are all possible scenarios. We can and must
negotiate peace with sober-minded partners, but if we are to deal with
not sober-minded enemy we must compel him to peace and will do it,"
said Sargsyan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan, sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.
Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. -0-
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenia_reserves_the_right_to_preemptive_strikes_p resident/#sthash.7Fpsmi0R.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian
YEREVAN, January 26. / ARKA /. Speaking today at a meeting of army
brass, devoted to the 23rd anniversary of Armenian armed forces,
president Serzh Sargsyan said Armenia reserves the right to pre-emptive
strikes in case of 'dangerous amassment of Azerbaijan troops along
the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh or Armenia's border.'
"We have no reason to wage a war, we do not provoke clashes and we
never show aggression, we do not need it, however, we retaliate
and will retaliate to all provocations of the Azerbaijani side,"
Sargsyan said.
He said until recently the response of the Armenian side was
symmetrical in form and asymmetrical in terms of casualties.
"We have witnessed a lot of aggressive actions of the enemy this year.
We sustained painful losses for which we grieve. I think no one doubts
that Azerbaijan will pay dearly for the life of each of our guys.
They paid dearly, and will pay dearly in the future," said the
president.
He said the purpose of the aggressive actions of the enemy is to
create a constant tension around us by the combination of political
and military means.
"This policy is a simple blackmail, designed for the international
community rather than Armenia," said Sargsyan.
According to him, Azerbaijani authorities are ready to send to death
hundreds and hundreds of their citizens to only keep their posts,
"but we can not allow this to happen at the expense of the lives of
our citizens and our soldiers. This can not be done at our expense."
"We are convinced that the right way is to negotiate and to continue
negotiations to reach an agreement on the basis of known principles,
and this is possible only in conditions of maintaining the cease-fire
and building bridges of trust," said the president.
"I once again declare publicly- we are ready for the good and for
the bad. On my desk there are all possible scenarios. We can and must
negotiate peace with sober-minded partners, but if we are to deal with
not sober-minded enemy we must compel him to peace and will do it,"
said Sargsyan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict erupted into armed clashes after the
collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s as the predominantly
Armenian-populated enclave of Azerbaijan, sought to secede from
Azerbaijan and declared its independence backed by succeeding
referendum. A truce was brokered by Russia in 1994, although no
permanent peace agreement has been signed.
Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent regions have been
under the control of Armenian forces of Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh
is the longest-running post-Soviet era conflict and has continued
to simmer despite the relative peace of the past two decades, with
snipers causing tens of deaths a year. -0-
http://arka.am/en/news/politics/armenia_reserves_the_right_to_preemptive_strikes_p resident/#sthash.7Fpsmi0R.dpuf
From: Baghdasarian