Monday, April 1 2019 11:00

ArmInfo.Statements by the Minister of DefenseDavid Tonoyan and Director of the National Security Service of ArmeniaArtur Vanetsyan is politically  complementary and aimed at curbing militancy of Baku. In any case,  they are useful for Armenia.

ArmInfo expressed a similar opinion to  former Artsakh Foreign Minister, independent analyst Arman  Melikyan."In particular, these statements are important because they  record the willingness of officials and departments responsible for  the security and defense of our country to perform their tasks at the  appropriate level. I think that awareness of this fact is important  for all of us. 

Accordingly, it's important that the decision on war or peace on the  part of Armenia will be made by the governing body of the ruling  political force. In this light, the statements of Tonoyan and  Vanetsyan can only be welcomed, "the analyst said.On March 30, at a  meeting with the Armenian community in New York, Armenian Defense  Minister David Tonoyan reformulated the formula of "territory for  peace" for "new war - new territories". Noting that there will be no  concessions to Azerbaijan, the minister did not rule out the  possibility of compromises. "Armenia will increase the number of  offensive units. We will emerge from this trench, constantly  defensive situation. We will increase the number of units capable of  transferring military operations to the enemy's territory," Tonoyan  said.

On March 1, director of the National Security Service of Armenia  Arthur Vanetsyan, who is on a visit to Artsakh, described the  settlement program of the republic as one of the main guarantees of  its security.  "The statements of individuals who speculate on the  topic of land surrender are refuted by the implementation of this  program. We are sending a clear message to the entire Armenian people  and the whole world that we have no purpose to donate land and, on  the other hand, live our compatriots and improve our country ", said  Vaniecian.Evaluating the results of the Vienna meeting of  Pashinyan-Aliyev, the analyst highlighted the willingness of the  parties to solve humanitarian problems, their positive assessment of  the meeting itself, the agreement to continue contacts within the  framework of the process organized by the OSCE MG mediators. At the  same time, he noted the complete absence of references to Yerevan's  proposal to involve Stepanakert in the negotiations in the final  statement of the co-chairs. The absence of the authority to represent  at the talks and Artsakh from now on was not mentioned either.   According to the analyst, all this gives Ilham Aliyev reason to talk  about the immutability of the negotiation format and, accordingly,  its content."This is the actual results of the Vienna talks,  reflected in the statement of the co-chairs. And Pashinyan hasn't  said otherwise.

Thus, it seems that the Armenian authorities retreated to their  previous positions, once again becoming hostages of the Madrid  principles. However, even if "One way or another, a return to the  previous negotiating atmosphere seems impossible. Finally, this will  become clear to all participants in the process in the coming  months," the analyst concluded.On Friday, March 29, in Vienna, with  the mediation of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, a meeting was held  between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani  President Ilham Aliyev. On March 28, in the capital of Austria, a  meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Zohrab  Mnatsakanyan and Elmar Mamedyarov was held. The ministerial meeting  was preceded by their separate meetings with the mediators.At the  meeting with the Armenian community of Austria, assessing the meeting  with Aliyev positively, Nikol Pashinyan, however, noted the absence  of any breakthroughs in the negotiations. "It is important that a  process has begun that gives an opportunity to talk about the ideas,  problems and agenda that I talked about in Stepanakert. Now the main  thing is to think about whether the parties can make an effort to  keep the situation stable on the contact line, to ensure that the  villages lived normally, were engaged in agricultural work without  fear of shelling. I hope that the assessments of Ilham Aliyev on  these issues will not differ much from ours, "the prime minister  concluded.