ArmInfo.No one has the right to take away from Armenia what it owns, Andranik Kocharyan, Chairman of the Committee on Defense and Security, RA Parliament, told reporters on Tuesday.
The current situation round Armenia and Artsakh is the same as it was in the early 1990s, when a ceasefire agreement was reached, he said. Now Azerbaijan has set up a checkpoint at the place that is part of the responsibility zone of Russia, Armenia's strategic ally. "Sooner or later all the roads are unblocked. Sometimes blockade last even longer, and you win if you can endure," Mr Kocharyan said.
As to the Armenian side not responding to sniping by Azerbaijani troops, Mr Kocharyan said that Armenia's armed forces actually respond to provocations. Since the end of the 44-day war the Armenian side has mostly refrained from responding, but the situation is different now.
"If they open fire, we will retaliate. In the past they used to open fire and we used to leave our positions. And now your see we are retaliating. We used to suffer greater losses, but the situation is entirely different now," the MP said.
As regards the construction of Armenia's armed forces, the MP calls on the public and mss media to be patient and optimistic, as accomplishing the task requires education, arms and competent command.