STEPANAKERT (RFE/RL)—Nagorno-Karabakh’s armed forces wrapped up on Thursday three-day military exercises which they said demonstrated their “adequate preparedness” for a possible war with Azerbaijan.
The Karabakh Defense Army said the “battalion-level tactical exercises” were watched by its commander, Lieutenant-General Movses Hakobian, and involved “different types of troops,” military hardware and live gunfire. It did not specify the number of soldiers participating in the drills and their venue.
“The holding of such war games is aimed at boosting tactical skills of participating personnel and enabling the latter to practice defensive and counteroffensive combat operations,” the army said in a statement. The Karabakh Armenian forces again showed that they can accomplish “any combat objective,” it said.
A spokesman for Bako Sahakian, president of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, said the army holds such exercises on a regular basis and they are all planned in advance. “Such events demonstrate to Azerbaijan and other states that the Republic of Artsakh is ready to defend its territorial integrity, freedom and independence,” Davit Babayan told RFE/RL’s Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) from Stepanakert.
“Military exercises and their conduct at a high level are also a factor in maintaining peace and stability,” said Babayan.
The latest exercises began on Tuesday amid Azerbaijan’s renewed threats to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by force. Azerbaijani Defense Minister Safar Abiyev said Armenia is precipitating a new Karabakh war with its refusal to “return Azerbaijan’s occupied lands.”
Babayan dismissed those threats, saying that Baku cannot forcibly regain control of Karabakh and other Armenian-controlled territories surrounding it.
Good stuff!
I don’t want to sound like a warmonger, but let’s face some facts. It is not in the interest of any Armenian or Armenia or the NK Republic to have such a neighbor as a pseudo-country with a pseudo-nationality of people named “Azerbaijan”. How can Armenia go on with a neighbor like Azerbaijan? Dealing with the largest terrorist nation of Earth, Turkey, is bad enough. And we must also deal with its wanna-be sidekick “Azerbaijan” which just hatched out of an egg?
Leave it to all the imperialists to have created this situation for none other than Armenians, where we are forced to deal with an impostor race and an impostor country and all at the expense of our lands, history and culture. No people deserve to have their history and culture stolen and promptly threatened every waking day to be wiped off the map.
Speaking on behalf of myself, the destruction of the khatchkars in Nakhichevan alone was an act of war, and I do not recognize Azerbaijan as a country, nor a people, and I curse every last one of those bas**rds.
Could not agree with you more!
I support your words 100% , that is perfect !!!! i hope more armenians think this way that way we can fend off enemies, believe me it goes beyond azerbaijan or turkey.
What a pride to all Armenians around the globe for the successful Military Exercises carried out by Karabakh. Long Live Armenia and Karabakh military forces and down with Azari cowards. Amen.
threats …..threats …threats …. Azerbaijan’s renewed threats to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict ???
poor Azerbaijan how many time now renewed threats ?? everyday since May of 1994 !! LOL
let them put those “threats” into action. We will liberate more of our teritiorries.
hopefully war doesnt come, if it does , then more armenian territories to win relentlessly.
very good be ready and always prepared
Azerbaijan is a like your next door coward stupid dog keep barking from fear and barking dog
is not a danger dog at all the mine thing is let’s thing how we are going to liberate rest
of the Armenian land from coward Dog Alive it is up to Armenian leader’s and people the time
is with as not with the coward dog
Azerbaijan is a like your next door coward stupid dog keep barking from fear and barking dog
is not a danger dog at all the main thing is let’s thing how we are going to liberate rest
of the Armenian land from coward Dog Alive it is up to Armenian leader’s and people the time
is with as not with the coward dog
If the Azeri leadership were capable of making good on their threats, they
would have done so by now. Instead, they feel compelled to blow
hot air to make themselves feel good. All this bluster also provides a
distraction for them to loot their own people.
@Kevork: Pseudo is only NKR.
Robert the Turk:
If you think NKR is Pseudo, then go to Azerbaijan, get into an Azeri uniform, get an Azeri gun and try to cross the pseudo LOC into pseudo NKR. A bunch of your pseudo buddies tried it about a month ago. About 25 of them were sent to pseudo Hell.
Care to try and see what happens to you ?
I laughed so hard when readin and picturing this. Stupid Turks!
ill encourage robert to actually have the guts to go for it fully ! come on robby ! you can do it !!! tough guy
I believe the destruction of Azerbaijan will be “WITHIN”, because the majority of it’s population are not Azeris, rather they are different Ethnic people that their historic countries are conquered and oppressed by Azerbaijan,