Why Valeri Osipyan Is Avoiding Contact with Vitaly Balasanyan

‘168 Hours’ newspaper writes: 'The head of the Police of Armenia, Valeri Osipyan, has yet to attempt to establish contact with the hero of Artsakh and Major General Vitaly Balasanyan to provide clarifications regarding the incident in Yerevan involving the Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, Vitaly Balasanyan, last Sunday.

Vitaly Balasanyan, in a conversation with us, did not hide the fact that he was actually expecting that call and perhaps hopes for an explanation from someone he had once freed from captivity during the seizure of the Patrol Service (PS) detachment.

It is noteworthy that last Sunday, armed police officers stopped the car of a friend of Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh, hero Vitaly Balasanyan, in the Avan administrative district, claiming they had operational information that illegal weapons and ammunition were being kept in the vehicle. General Balasanyan was in the second car, who found himself at the center of the events due to the situation.

Balasanyan had initially demanded that employees from the 6th Main Department of the Police of Armenia, responsible for combating crime, show the relevant court order based on which law enforcement would have the authority to search the vehicle. However, after half an hour of making calls back and forth, the 6th department staff stated that there was no document, after which the Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh prohibited them from approaching the car accompanying him.

Shortly thereafter, the police declared that the operation initially had no connection to and does not involve Vitaly Balasanyan; however, the situation remained tense even after that.

Meanwhile, various circles in Artsakh and Armenia assert the contrary perception that the vehicle was targeted by the police precisely because of the presence of the hero of Artsakh. Moreover, according to our information, journalists and operators from certain government-affiliated media were waiting nearby to film the 'incident' at the right moment when the order was given.

In any case, the hero of Artsakh does not consider this incident a coincidence, and the justifications presented by the police do not seem convincing to him; nonetheless, at the same time, Balasanyan is avoiding giving comments, solely to prevent the resurgence of internal tensions.

It is also worth noting that within the ruling 'Civil Contract' party, there is concern and some anxiety regarding the frequent visits of Vitaly Balasanyan to Yerevan and his meetings with various circles recently as a potential candidate for the presidency of Artsakh. The recent police operation, which gained notoriety under the pretext of searching the vehicle accompanying him, actually followed Balasanyan’s meeting with Robert Kocharyan in Yerevan. According to reports received by 168.am, this information has greatly unsettled Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and created tension within his party.

Another theory is that Vitaly Balasanyan, who is considered one of the key figures in the current Artsakh government, is viewed by Nikol Pashinyan as the most undesirable candidate for the presidency of Artsakh, and thus, the outburst triggered by the incident could be seen as one of the visible episodes of the cold war existing between them.

Regarding the speculation about a meeting with the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, he denied it in a conversation with 168.am, stating that he has not met with Kocharyan since his release from prison.'

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.