Artsakh President: Our demand and request to the peacekeeping troops  was that the status quo stemming from the trilateral statement should  be restored

ArmInfo.A regular sitting of the Security Council under the chairmanship of President of the Artsakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan was held in an expanded format,  the press service of the Artsakh President reports.  

In his opening remarks, the President first and foremost noted that  the frequent holding of Security Council sittings recently is  conditioned by the military-political situation in the republic,  especially by the developments in the eastern part of Artsakh.  Touching upon the carried out actions and future plans, President  Harutyunyan expressed his appreciation to the Defense Army, other  power structures and the volunteers, who managed to fulfill the set  tasks in a short period of time, suspending the enemy's advance.  

"We understand that their goal was to capture the whole of Karaglukh.  We should state that the main height of Karaglukh, the highest point,  is under our control, but as of today some important hills are under  the control of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces. Our goal is to withdraw  the Azerbaijanis to their original positions.  Our demand and request  to the peacekeeping troops was that the status quo stemming from the  trilateral statement should be restored. 

"We will never change this claim," President Harutyunyan said.    Arayik Harutyunyan expressed confidence that the purpose of the  provocation fomented by Azerbaijan was first of all aimed at  discretization of the role of the Russian peacekeeping forces.  "We   consider that the Russian peacekeeping forces continue to carry out  their mission, notwithstanding that episode," A.  Harutyunyan said.  

However, the Artsakh Republic President stressed that vigilance  should be maintained at a high level until it is clear that  Azerbaijan will not resort to such provocations again.  "For that  very reason, we will take radical and decisive steps in terms of our  self-defense in the future," President Harutyunyan said.  

Minister of Defense Kamo Vardanyan delivered a report on the current  operative-tactical situation on the line of contact.  During the  discussion of the issues on the agenda, President Harutyunyan gave a  number of instructions to the responsible officials of the relevant  structures.

It should be noted that on March 24 the Azerbaijani Armed Forces,  having violated the line of contact, invaded the village of Parukh in  the Askeran region of Artsakh and tried to take control of the  strategic height of Karaglukh. These territories are in the zone of  responsibility of Russian peacekeepers. There were local battles. The  enemy used attack drones.  There are casualties on both sides. The  Armenian side confirmed the deaths of three and the wounding of 15 of  its contract soldiers. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan does not  provide any information about its losses, but at least 5 Azerbaijani  servicemen were killed and two wounded. The co-chairing countries of  the OSCE Minsk Group called on Azerbaijan to return to their starting  positions established on March 23. On March 27, in the evening, the  Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Azerbaijani military  retreated to their starting positions, meanwhile, the Azerbaijani  side denies this message from the Russian defense department,  assuring that it is a lie.  

According to the latest data, Azerbaijani units continue to occupy  the Karaglukh height. Official Yerevan and Stepanakert expect that  the Russian peacekeepers in Artsakh will take measures to return the  Azerbaijanis to their starting positions and be able to prevent  possible military provocations on the line of contact.