If They Escalate Again, They Will Be Hit Again: Arman Abovyan

Are we relaxing a bit too soon? This was stated by Arman Abovyan, the secretary of the parliament faction of the Prosperous Armenia Party, on his Facebook page. He specifically noted, “While the Armenian political field is gradually returning to the internal political agenda with its conflicts and mutual accusations, and with a frenzy of not listening to opposing opinions, very serious developments are occurring in the region, particularly in the Turkish-Azerbaijani direction, which I believe involve serious diplomatic and military preparations for new military provocations.

In the last week, there have been intense negotiations between the military departments of Turkey and Azerbaijan. For example, representatives of the high command of Azerbaijani troops stationed in Nakhchivan were urgently dispatched to Turkey for negotiations. Turkey's Minister of Defense Hulusi Akar announced that they are ready to urgently assist Azerbaijan with military supplies. Concurrently, there is almost no Turkish senior official who does not emphasize that Turkey is prepared to provide urgent support to their Azerbaijani 'brothers.' Already, information is circulating in the press that the Turks are supplying urgent strike UAVs to Azerbaijan and recruiting neo-Ottoman militants operating in Syria to fight alongside the Azerbaijanis.

Simultaneously, the Azerbaijani side has also begun very active preparations on the diplomatic front. For instance, Hikmet Hajiyev, head of foreign relations in Aliyev's staff, announced that they are extremely dissatisfied with the co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the OSCE and are demanding a meeting of expanded members of the Minsk Group (and let’s not forget that Turkey is also represented as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group), effectively delegitimizing the established negotiation mechanism regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

At the same time, they are actively trying to pressure the Georgians, essentially attempting to use fabricated accusations to restrain them during expected escalations with political maneuvering in mind. In short, the Azerbaijanis are very seriously preparing for a reprisal in response to the humiliating defeat in Tavush.

Of course, both the 'Peach War' and other information diversions instigated by the Azerbaijanis pursue a very simple goal: to prepare for the next phase of tension. This is very clear and evident, which is why we must step out of our internal conflicts and prepare actively yet again. Moreover, we must do so in all directions—starting from military readiness to diplomatic fronts.

People, we relaxed far too soon… too soon!

Note: On July 21 at 22:30, the enemy's special forces attempted another attack in the direction of the 'Fearless' position. The Armenian armed forces repelled the enemy's assault, inflicting significant losses. According to preliminary data, in addition to casualties, the enemy's special forces have also left some personnel trapped. The Armenian side has suffered no losses. Ministry of Defense spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan.

Note 2: Of course, if they escalate again, they will be hit again, but we must be in the most favorable conditions during their next provocation.