«People far from the army wearing general's epaulettes should speak less, proving they are fools» - Babayan

We can propose whatever we want, but Azerbaijan considers that you are suggesting what it should do in its territory. It will not do that. This was stated by former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army Samvel Babayan in a conversation with NEWS.am on November 21, commenting on the proposal made by Artsakh and Armenia to create a demilitarized zone around Artsakh.

“This is just talk for the sake of talking,” he said.

Regarding the statement by Jalal Harutyunyan's lawyer that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan was aware of the Lela Tepe operation, but currently only Jalal Harutyunyan is detained, whether Pashinyan should also be involved, Babayan replied that he was unaware of anything.

In response to the comment that it has been written in the media that he was the one who developed the plan for that operation, he reacted: “Whoever says that is hitting their head against the wall. I would advise people who are very far from the army but wear general's epaulettes to speak less. Because the more they talk, the more they prove they are fools. The issue is that what I am aware of is the direction of the village of Horadiz. Lela Tepe is 10 km behind there. If you consider that to be Lela Tepe, I do not see it that way. I know that a separate operation occurred towards Lela Tepe. Now, I am not aware of what you are talking about.”

When asked if the Prime Minister was aware, does that not mean that the operation was coordinated from above, Samvel Babayan said, “The operation towards the village of Horadiz was coordinated. The Prime Minister was present at that conversation, but the agreement was with the General Staff. The headquarters must make decisions during wartime, according to the law. I don’t see a problem there at all.”