STEPANAKERT (ArmRadio)—Nagorno-Karabakh Republic President Bako Sahakian sought over the weekend to reassure the Karabakh Defense Forces that his government would “do everything possible” to support and maintain army preparedness following a recent string of cease-fire violations by Azerbaijan, The presidential press service reported.
Sahakian made his comments after a failed Azeri commando raid on Karabakh Defense Army positions on Saturday. The weekend skirmish led to the death of two Azeri soldiers and is the latest in a recent wave of border skirmishes instigated by the Azeri side. Earlier last week, one Armenian soldier was wounded after Azeri army units attempted to overrun defense positions in northeastern Karabakh.
“The authorities of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic will do everything possible to keep the military equipment of the Defense Army on a proper level and nothing will be spared,” Sahakian said at a meeting with the Defense Army’s military council.
But ensuring the supply of modern military hardware is not enough, he noted, adding that “it’s necessary to keep soldier morale high” through comprehensive measures that address their psychological, educational and social needs.
Sahakian condemned the recent string of border violations by Azerbaijan as “subversive terrorist acts that pose a threat to both regional security and the entire civilized world.” He underscored that the only way to prevent the ongoing aggression is to put forth a strong defense. If Karabakh’s Defense Forces cannot rebuff the attacks, he warned that “instability will increase [in the region]
The Karabakh leader also used the opportunity to bestow medals to a group of servicemen for successfully defending against the Azeri raid on Saturday.
Long live the free and independent Artsakh. All of the Armenians worldwide are with the government of Artsakh and will remind the civilized world that Turkey and Azerbaijan are threat to the world peace.
Put Turkey on trial for crimes of Genocide against humanity and mankind.