Alen Simonian’s Statement on Border Situation Is Unreliable

On May 3, during a briefing with journalists, National Assembly President Alen Simonian responded to a question regarding the extent to which the opposition's protests are connected to foreign forces, stating: “At the very first hours of the opposition’s rally, shots were recorded on our border from the Azerbaijani side using large-caliber weapons. I leave the conclusions to you…”

The opposition's acts of defiance began in the second half of April. In particular, on April 17, the leader of the “Homeland” party, Arthur Vanetsyan, addressed citizens via Facebook live from Freedom Square, calling on them to join their struggle, and on April 22, the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and member of the “Armenia” faction, Ishkhan Saghatelyan, announced the start of street protests.

It should be noted that Auroranews.am, examining statements published on the official website and Facebook platform of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia from the second half of April to the beginning of May, found no information regarding incidents on the border that matched such content.

On May 4, Auroranews.am sent a request to the Ministry of Defense of Armenia to clarify whether large-caliber fire had been registered from the Azerbaijani side towards the Armenian border since April 17. If so, why no statement regarding the border incident has been issued on official platforms of the Ministry.

In a written response to our inquiry, the Ministry of Defense stated that information about ceasefire violations is primarily published on the department's website when the fire from Azerbaijani Armed Forces units is either non-individual in nature or targeted.

However, it is noteworthy that Alen Simonian emphasized the recording of shots using large-caliber weapons. It turns out that Simonian's statement is unequivocally unreliable. The ministry does not confirm the information provided.