The situation on the border is one of stable tension. This was stated by Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan, while clarifying that there are no major clashes in Artsakh.
“If by tension you mean gunfire or major clashes, there are none at this moment, but whenever we have spoken about the possibility of escalation, I have always answered that at any moment that wave of escalation could grow, because our peace is fragile. And given the events taking place in the world right now, it cannot be ruled out that someone, some state, might try to destabilize the situation,” Sargsyan said.
The deputy minister did not clarify whether an investigation has been launched regarding the circumstances of the advance of Azerbaijani forces in the Askeran region of Artsakh. Official Yerevan had called into question the effectiveness of the Russian peacekeepers’ actions in the direction of Parukh and had spoken, at the highest level — that of the prime minister — about the need for an investigation. The deputy minister deemed these questions dangerous for Armenia’s statehood.
“We are now speaking about sensitive topics, regarding which answering or not answering, confirming or denying… the relevant bodies must speak on that topic; I can speak only about what the situation is at this moment. It is not desirable to conduct a long press conference with the deputy minister of defense of a state in this situation,” said Arman Sargsyan.
As early as March 28, referring to the latest escalation of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia’s foreign ministry had declared: “We consider it important that during this entire process of the incursion of Azerbaijani units, a proper investigation of the peacekeeping force’s actions take place and answers be given to a number of questions.”
Voicing such expectations, Prime Minister Pashinyan had also spoken at the previous government meeting: “We also expect that the actions of the representatives of the peacekeeping force during and after the incursion, which I mentioned, or their possible inaction, receive a proper investigation.”
