Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan speaks at Jan. 8 ceremony at Sardarabad Memorial, sending off conscripts (Photo: mil.am)
YEREVAN (Armenpress)—Former CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha’s assessment over the incident which occurred near Chinari village of Armenia’s Tavush province was very clear, Armenia’s Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan said during a ceremony on January 8 sending off conscripts.
“The CSTO Secretariat is strictly concerned about the information received in connection with the armed incident that happened near Chinari village of Armenia,” said Bordyuzha.
“The Secretary General is one of the most important institutions of the CSTO and he expresses the organization’s whole opinion during the sessions,” Sargsyan said.
“We consider such actions within the territory of the CSTO member state as a provocation, in particular, against the backdrop of quite a serious incident in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in April of this year during which heavy armored equipment was applied. It seemed that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement process would eventually move forward due to the efforts made by both sides, as well as a number of countries. However, recently the information received from the region on the ceasefire violations, as well as the December 29 incident, that killed servicemen, create a serious concern,” continued Bordyuzha.
Sargsyan shaking hands with conscript (Photo: mil.am)
Azerbaijani forces attempted a sabotage infiltration in the Armenian state border, south-east from Chinari village of Tavush province in the early morning of December 29, and killing three Armenian soldiers. The Armenian Armed Forces have neutralized the Azerbaijan attacks. Azerbaijani forces were pushed back, suffering losses and WIAs, including in the military positions.
“The situation has been relatively calm at the borders of Armenia and Artsakh during the holidays,” Sargsyan said, “but this does not mean that there have been no ceasefire violations.”
“There has been sporadic shooting,” he said, but the “Armenian side responds only to targeted shooting.”
Sargsyan noted that “any ceasefire violation is a violation of the commitment to respect the truce and should be followed by an adequate political response.”
Regarding the necessity of new equipment at the border and the prevention of infringement attempts, the Defense Minister said “There is no technology that can prevent the infiltration attempts, but the replenishment at the border is an ongoing process, and the better we are equipped, the less the chances of infringement.”
Source: Asbarez
Link: The then Sec. General’s Statement on Chinari ‘Very Clear’ says Defense Minister