Monday, June 22 2020 13:21

ArmInfo. The third president of Armenia, the chairman of the Republican Party, Serzh Sargsyan, reacted harshly to the statement of the newly elected President of Artsakh, Araik Harutyunyan, regarding the fact that in 2016 the sky  over Stepanakert was unprotected.  So, Sargsyan in his statement  published on the RPA website noted that he was only glad if something  improved in the army today, something better than yesterday.

"I will never throw dirt into the Armenian army, questioning its  defenses, whatever the wishes or whims of the current political  authorities. Because anyone who even has the slightest idea of army  construction must understand what it means from year to year increase  the level of defense of the army, upgrade weapons, strengthen army  power, because only the people who created it from scratch, and even  during the war, in the most difficult conditions, organized  conscription, formed regular army units from volunteer detachments,  solved problems with weapons, uniforms, during the most difficult  period of the struggle with the enemy, they will understand what I've  said. Those people in whose eyes the army was born and held,  "Sargsyan emphasized.

In this regard, the third president added that for about thirty years  all the Armenian people have been proud of their army, which is  rightfully considered the most efficient in the region, and which,  with honor and responsibility, has fulfilled its holy mission to  protect the homeland and people. "And over the course of these three  decades, at least I and many of my friends who have walked along this  path were not tempted to publicly compare the previous period of army  construction with the improvements made by us, including declaring  for the enemy information about what was not earlier, where our  defense was vulnerable, to demonstrate what we did, "Sargsyan was  indignant.

At the same time, he noted that there are many other ways of  demonstrating the fact of constant modernization of the army. "In the  end, from morning till night we don't publicly declare that a  significant part of the current arms deliveries is carried out on the  basis of agreements and agreements concluded in previous years. Is  this really so important? After the April war, 4 years have passed,  and naturally "From year to year, our defenses should have been  strengthened more and more. We can only rejoice, just as rejoice, and  take pride in the undeniable victory of our army during the April  war," Sargsyan said, calling the use of such statements in the  defense sphere unacceptable just to demonstrate what has been done.   At the same time, the third president of Armenia emphasized that the  enemy, located on the other side of the border, should always be  convinced that he never had and does not have any advantage over the  Armenian army, except for the numerical, if not the other way around.  He also added that he promised to talk in detail about the April  four-day war at a press conference to be held after the state of  emergency." An investigation commission has been set up in  parliament, which has already completed its work and is preparing to  publish its opinion shortly. So why are such incompetent statements  being made today?  If in 2016 the airspace of Artsakh was not  protected, then how did the Defense Army bring down 20 aircraft, 2  enemy helicopters? How did it happen that not a single enemy aircraft  crossed the air borders of Artsakh at that time? Maybe the invader,  who unleashed large-scale military operations against Artsakh, took  pity and did not invade its airspace. Everything is already crossing  the boundaries of logic and morality. It is this border that is  vulnerable, but not the air border of Artsakh, "summed up Sargsyan.   Recall that an interview with the Public Channel of Armenia, newly  elected Artsakh President Araik Harutyunyan, stated that Artsakh is  now more protected than ever, in 2016 they could not even dream of  such weapons.

According to him, it was not by chance that he called 2019 the year  from the point of view of providing the republic's defense power with  a turning point. Harutyunyan expressed his full categorical  disagreement with the so-called critical assessments that the old,  non-working, morally obsolete weapons were allegedly entering the NKR  Defense Army. "This is far from being the case, I'm not going to open  the brackets, but believe me, we have never been so powerful as  before," Harutyunyan noted.

In this regard, the head of the Artsakh Republic especially  emphasized the provision of the republic with powerful air defense  systems. <In 2016 (the April aggression of Azerbaijan in Artsakh -  Ed.) There was no air attack, but then we were much vulnerable. The  sky above Stepanakert was almost defenseless. Today I want to  confidently state that not only the sky over Stepanakert is fully  protected, but also the sky over the whole Artsakh. And in the field  of air defense a fairly large place is occupied by the latest air  defense systems. It was "air" that was the most vulnerable place for  us and this danger existed from 1993-94 and the enemy took advantage  of this, attacking not only Stepanakert, but also the cities of Goris  and Kapan. Today we have solved this problem, and we have a very  strong air defense. This applies not only to air defense, but also to  the advanced line of defense; today it is strong and protected as  never before. In 2016, we could not even dream of such a weapon>, -  said the President of Artsakh.  It should also be noted that in 2016,  Harutyunyan served as Prime Minister of Artsakh.