Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan said he is always guided by the principle: “If you want peace, prepare for war”.
“Azerbaijan may still use force to resolve the Karabakh conflict, but Armenian army is always ready to defend the homeland,” he said at a meeting with students and teaching staff of Yerevan State University. “Azerbaijan refuses to withdraw snipers from the line of contact. And the Armenian Army is not idle. Fire is mainly commenced by the Azeri side. We don’t respond to desultory fire but if the situation threatens to run out of control, we’re certain to retaliate.”
As Minister Ohanyan emphasized, withdrawal of snipers was repeatedly discussed during meetings with OSCE MG Co-Chairs.
The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.
