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“NO PIECE OF LAND TO THE ENEMY”

Politics

Back in 1992-1993 when Serzh Sargsyan was the RA Defense Minister, he had made a statement according to which the liberators of Artsakh knew that there would come a day when they would have to give up the liberated territories for the Nagorno-Karabakh status. However, head of the NA Committee on Defense and Armed Forces Arthur Aghabekian, who was one of the liberators of the Nagorno-Karabakh territories, refused to comment today on the statement made by Serzh Sargsyan.

Aghabekian told “A1+” that there was neither a commander nor soldier that thought about that back then. According to Aghabekian, when the liberation process began in 1993, every commander set forth the issue to protect the people from bombings and create a buffer zone.

“I believe that there is not one official who can sit in his office and think about how much land and to whom it must be handed over. The Armenian people must decide what to give up.”

As long as the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are not speaking out, Aghabekian advises perceiving the news about the handing over of lands as simply rumors.

In the end, Aghabekian simply said: “No piece of land to the enemy.” If Serzh Sargsyan dares to make a decision on Nagorno-Karabakh, Aghabekian promised on behalf of his party that the Dashnaktsutiun will take action before the decision is made.

SHIRKHANIAN FEELS SORRY FOR SEYRAN OHANIAN

Former Defense Minister Vahan Shirkhanian, who was Aghabekian’s opponent today, expressed himself more freely. He weighed up Serzh Sargsian’s statement as an absolute lie and added:

“Lying is unacceptable for anybody; however, when a high-ranking official lies, that is dangerous for everyone. There is no such thing. The lands have been liberated and the current Nagorno-Karabakh status is the result of the failed policies of today’s authorities.”

Shirkhanian also told “A1+” that he doesn’t agree with Arthur Aghabekian when he says that the statements regarding the lands must be perceived as rumors.

“I not only see a threat to the liberated lands, but also Armenia. When Azerbaijan was leading its policies with Turkey, our authorities were busy with their Jeeps, casinos and personal issues.”

During the interview Vahan Shirkhanian said that he feels sorry for current RA Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian: “I truly feel sorry for Ohanian. He would not give up any lands; however, he has found himself in that situation.”

But today’s topic was the law on defense being discussed in parliament. Aghabekian believes that the improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations will in no way affect the allocated Russian military bases in Armenia, particularly the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. Shirkhanian disagreed, saying that the opening of the border doesn’t only mean the transfer of goods over the border.