Russians Surprised by Armenian Officials' Negligence and Indifference: 'Hraparak'

According to 'Hraparak' newspaper, 'Despite the fact that Azerbaijani incursions into Armenian sovereign territory have been ongoing for several days, and large-scale military operations began yesterday in the Sisian area of the Syunik province, the Armenian side was slow to request assistance from the Russian side. Only yesterday, Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan announced, 'We appeal within the framework of the 1997 agreement between Armenia and Russia, calling to protect Armenia's territorial integrity.' He stated that they would formally appeal in writing. However, the issue is not even about officially appealing as a state, but rather about the basic cooperation with the Russian military units stationed in Armenia and Artsakh. Until recently, during any incidents both in Artsakh and the border areas of Syunik, even when Azerbaijanis captured a sheep from Armenian farmers, the Armenian side would contact the leadership of the Russian peacekeepers and attempt to rectify the situation as quickly and without losses as possible. At some point, that cooperation ceased, and the Russians are no longer being contacted. We have learned that the Russians are surprised by the negligence and indifference of the Armenian officials.' More details in today's newspaper issue.