ArmInfo.At the moment, the operational situation in the eastern and southeastern directions of the line of contact between the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan is relatively stable. Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Edward Asryan stated this on October 31 in the parliament in an interview with journalists.
At the same time, he stated that most cases of ceasefire violations are recorded in the eastern direction: Kutakan, Kaghakni, Sotk, Gegharkunik region, as well as in the direction of Jermuk, Vayots Dzor region.
"Violations of the ceasefire regime by the enemy are both targeted and indiscriminate shooting - in adverse weather conditions, due to fog," Asryan said.
As the high-ranking servicemen noted, As for target violations, in these cases, the enemy tries to prevent the implementation of engineering works in the positions.
"Since we have initiated the implementation of large-scale work, we are strengthening our positions, areas, the line of contact, and thus we are also trying to prevent further actions of the enemy," the Chief of the RA General Staff said.
Asked to confirm or deny reports that Armenia lost more than 50 positions as a result of the latest enemy aggression, Asryan confirmed that the RA Armed Forces had positional losses in the direction of the village of Nerkin Khand, the city of Jermuk, as well as Ishkhanasar and Kutakan.
"As for the number of positions, I can't say a specific number, because there are different terminologies for using strong points. Therefore, I can't call the number 50, 60 or 70," he said, adding that he could not know what people meant voicing this number.
When asked to tell what happened to the sabotage group of the enemy on the territory of the Republic of Armenia, which he himself spoke about on September 16 in Jermuk, Asryan noted that during the September aggression, enemy forces invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia in several directions. At the same time, he assured that then, incurring losses, they retreated to their initial positions.
When asked why the "encircled" Azerbaijani group was not liquidated or captured, Asryan stated that for this it was necessary to get close to the enemy, which would endanger the lives of Armenian soldiers. "We did not go for it. At the moment, positions have been set up in the direction of Jermuk to ensure the security of the city. After September 16, I visited this direction twice, everything is coordinated there, the situation is relatively stable," Asryan said.
To clarify, whether the enemy is still 4.5 km away from the resort town of Jermuk, Asryan assured that this is a relative concept, since there is an uneven terrain. "This is the distance from the northeastern outskirts, but from the city center the distance is more - 5-6 km," he assured.