Moses Hakobyan: "Alen Simonian is a very small man for me to comment on his statements"

On October 4th, Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonian commented on the horrific video of Armenian captives being shot by militants of an enemy state during a press conference with journalists in the parliament. He stated that for him, the agenda of "peace" remains relevant. "So what is the proposal? An eternal war? Shall we enter Sasun and come out in Mush, right? Sea to sea Armenia… Why don’t you mention that we continue to equip our army? Who says that there should not be an army? Does the agenda of peace mean that there should not be an army? No. If someone can now offer us a real alternative to all those aspirations, the toastings that we often like to say – sea to sea Armenia, here we are going to enter and seize… Forgive me, I do not take such talks seriously. We cannot engage in warlike statements and territorial claims against our neighbors in the modern world," Simonian stated.

Regarding the April 2016 war, during which the Armenian side declared a ceasefire at the request of Azerbaijan, Alen Simonian mentioned that he does not consider the four-day war a victory.

168.am inquired with former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Moses Hakobyan about whether Armenia won in the April war as a military professional. “I have answered this question many times. Look at my comments from 2017, and see what I said regarding this. As for what Alen Simonian said, Alen Simonian is a very small man for me to comment on his statements,” Hakobyan concluded.

In one of his interviews given in 2017, Moses Hakobyan specifically stated about the April war: "The situation that has arisen is the result of the decisions made, and today the border is at that line. The President of Armenia, the Supreme Commander, has repeatedly pointed out and commented on this issue, and I believe he has given a very objective assessment. If we analyze the actions of the April war, we see how the adversary acted, with what group and how long they were able to operate."