Tunyan on situation in Kirants: There are always satisfied and  dissatisfied people

ArmInfo. MP from the ruling "Civil Contract" party in Armenia, Babken Tunyan, is ready to think about an  official invitation to a meeting with the leader of the "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan.

As Tunyan said on May 17 in a conversation with reporters, he could  not even think that a situation would ever arise where the church  actually initiates a movement with the agenda of an actual change of  power, but life has changed in such a way that nothing can be ruled  out.

When asked if he met with Bagrat Galstanyan and whether he would meet  if such a proposal was made, the pro-government MP replied: "If the  archbishop officially proposes a meeting and presents its agenda,  then I will think about it. However, I don't see such a need."

According to him, he does not know the agenda of the movement. "I  thought the issue of security of Kirants, Voskepar, Tavush was on the  agenda. But now we see movement, people are expressing their point of  view, holding actions of disobedience. These are processes  characteristic of a democratic country. If they manage to convince  the majority of the people or complete the process of expressing no  confidence, as far as I remember, they gave dates, then anyone can  continue this process. "I don't see any problem," he said.   Commenting on the situation in Kirants and the contradictions in the  assessments of the authorities and village residents regarding the  protocol-description of the border sections in Tavush (the  authorities consider this a success, while local residents closed the  road in protest, ed. note) Tunyan noted: "According to my data, the  Kirants road is currently open. Of course, people are dissatisfied,  and these dissatisfaction and concerns are obvious. No matter what  decisions are made, there are always satisfied and dissatisfied  people. It is clear that some of our citizens will be inconvenienced,  certain problems will arise with their property, but if this is  necessary from the point of view of the general security of Armenia,  then it must be balanced."

On May 15, the RA government published details of the  protocol-description for the delimitation of a number of areas in  Tavush.  As it became known from a message from the administration of  the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, three coordinates in  the Kirants area have been determined using a computer; the markers  will be installed later. "The other markers have been installed.   Good news for Kirants is that the village will regain about 25  hectares of agricultural land that has been inaccessible to Kirants  for the past 33 years. The border description is exactly as presented  on the 1976 map. As mentioned earlier, the issue of road relocation  will arise, but it can be addressed within 2-3 months.  Additionally,  the road leading from highway H-26 to Acharkut and further to  Kirants, which serves as an alternative for Kirants, will be  repaired. Regarding property matters, their scope will not be large,  and any damage suffered by citizens in such cases will be compensated  by the state through property or financial means according to their  preference.  Government representatives will commence inventorying  potential issues and engaging in discussions with Kirants residents  early in the morning," the government stated. It is expected that  border guards from both sides will stand at the agreed border in the  next 8-9 days. 

The next day, at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Prime  Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he considers the signing of a  protocol of this description a great success.