If He Could Obtain by War, He Would Have Done It Long Ago: MP from the ruling party

1.5 years ago, when Aliyev was talking about the enclaves, there was no serious response from Armenia, but today Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says, 'Are you talking about enclaves? Step out of my 32 villages' territory, and then we'll talk about enclaves.' This was stated by Hakob Aslanyan, an MP from the ruling Civil Contract party, in an interview with NEWS.am.

'This does not mean that Armenia is gradually restoring its strength and is ready to defend the safety of its citizens and its territorial integrity. Just look at the dynamics. We need another 1-1.5 years to fully straighten our backs, and we will talk differently with the Turks,' he said.

In response to the remark that Azerbaijan is threatening war to obtain the enclaves, the ruling party MP noted: 'If he could obtain them by war, he would have done it long ago. Now he is blackmailing us, saying that if you don’t give the enclaves, I will take them by force. The real blackmailer is Azerbaijan.'

Aslanyan expressed confidence that Armenia will not give away any enclaves as long as Azerbaijan does not withdraw from Armenian territories. 'There will be no agreement until our vital territories are returned to us. If you follow the Prime Minister's statements, you will see how our stance is becoming increasingly firm. This is the basis for our country's gradual but clear strengthening in all sectors: economic, political, military, and more. In military industry, in economics, and in our development, even if we sometimes make mistakes or go down a slightly wrong path, it is clear that today’s Armenia cannot be compared with Armenia of 2020, 2021, or even 2022. Today our state is gradually but steadily straightening its back, and the Turk sees how we are strengthening our borders. In 1-2 years, he will not be able to speak to us in this way at all.'

Aslanyan added, 'Today, our military budget has more funding than Azerbaijan’s. Although ours is only half of Azerbaijan’s budget, their territory is three times larger than ours.'