Armenia’s Deputy Defense Minister Armen Sargsyan on Monday expressed concern over the continuing tensions that remain at the line-of-contact in Artsakh’s Askeran region, after Azerbaijani forces advanced their position into the Parukh village and later occupied the strategic Karaglukh Heights more than 10 days ago.
Sargsyan, who was responding to reporters’ questions, said that the current global developments could be used by certain actors to destabilize the “fragile” peace in Artsakh.
“The wave of escalation could increase at any moment because our peace is fragile. Given the ongoing developments around the world it is not ruled out that someone—some country—would attempt to destabilize the situation,” warned Sargsyan.
Earlier, Sargsyan briefed members of parliament about the current military situation in Artsakh, but at times failed to answer lawmakers’ questions emanating from recent announcements by high-level government officials.
At the center of parliament members’ inquiry was a statement made last week by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who said the the effectiveness of Russia’s peacekeeping contingent should be investigated given the incursion into Parukh, which is under the jurisdiction of the said peacekeepers.
Lawmakers and reporters inquired about whether such an investigation has begun, or what body would be tasked to carry out the job.
“We are not touching on sensitive issues, about which responding or not, confirming or denying… this issue must be discussed by relevant bodies. I can only speak specifically about the current situation on the ground,” said Sargsyan adding that he, as the deputy defense minister, was not interested in engaging in discussions about the matter.
Thus, he evaded the issue.
