Such Incidents Will Occur Until a Peace Agreement is Signed: Aghazaryan

Such incidents will occur for a long time between us and Azerbaijan, and we must approach this with understanding and not succumb to other emotions. This was stated today, August 26, by the member of the "Civil Contract" faction, Hovik Aghazaryan, in an interview with NEWS.am, referring to the Azerbaijani armed forces closing the section of the Goris-Kapan interstate road from Karmrakar to Shurnukh.

“Such incidents will continue until a peace agreement is signed. Even if a peace agreement is signed, such incidents will still happen, and we must be prepared for that,” Aghazaryan said.

According to the ruling faction's member, Azerbaijan resorts to such actions to exert pressure on Armenia during negotiations, but Armenia should not succumb to that pressure.

“I believe that the peace agreement will not be signed soon; an interim agreement might be reached, and until the borders are clarified and demarcation is carried out, no peace agreement will be signed. The peace agreement should be a document where the borders for both countries are clearly defined. There will be obligations to prevent violations, and if peace civilians accidentally find themselves here or there, it should not be considered an issue, and these matters should be resolved through cooperation. They should also try to resolve the issue of unblocking roads, etc.,” he stated.

In Aghazaryan's opinion, it is not true that Armenia does nothing against the incursion of Azerbaijani troops into our country’s borders. He noted that after the war, the Armenian army has yet to establish the necessary equipment and control along the newly opened borders, allowing Azerbaijan to exploit this situation and permit certain violations in some areas.

“When they come freely and, in some sense, occupy certain areas unarmed, responding to this with weapons may create problems. Therefore, we should not... I do not rule out that they are not confused but are provoking us to take some steps, so they can also act. The goal is to create tension because, in one way or another, when these peace processes become more solid, they will surely vacate the areas they occupy,” the ruling faction's member noted.

Aghazaryan believes that by creating such incidents, Azerbaijan's military-political leadership aims to feed its society the narrative that they are strong. “In my opinion, they are not satisfied with the results of the war, but thanks to our government's balanced behavior, international pressure from organizations, and the efforts of the Minsk Group, these issues will be resolved. But this does not mean that we should constantly allow such things to happen; it has been our mistake, and we must not sleep at night to ensure that such mistakes do not happen again. The situation on certain sections of the Goris-Kapan road is such that we should not respond immediately, as these are disputed areas.”