Security Council Secretary on authorities` position on situation in  Tegh, on Karabakh settlement and on course of country`s development

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan is most likely preparing for a major escalation, it is in this context that the incident near Tegh village should be seen and understood and that  it was planned in advance. Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen  Grigoryan stated in an interview with CivilNet, referring to the  Azerbaijani provocation on the sovereign territory of the Republic of  Armenia.

He recalled that both Azerbaijani propaganda and a number of  international media have been talking about a possible escalation,  which is being prepared by Azerbaijan, for a long time.

To the journalist's remark why there is no political responsibility  in Armenia, in view of the fact that in case of such an omission, the  person responsible for this mistake would resign in any other  democratic country, Grigoryan assured that in general there is  political responsibility in the country, reforms are being carried  out to address the identified problems. He also did not answer the  question regarding the imperative of the resignation of RA Minister  of Defense Suren Papikyan for numerous omissions.

To the remark, how did it happen that the Azerbaijanis came and  settled earlier on the sovereign territory of the Republic of  Armenia, although the Armenian side knew that there should be changes  and did not establish their positions on their land in advance, the  Secretary of the Security Council began to talk about some  discussions, agreements with Azerbaijan regarding actions and noted  that the Azerbaijani side violated most of the agreements that  resulted in this situation.

Observing how it happened that Azerbaijanis came and settled earlier  in the sovereign territory of RA, although the Armenian side knew  that there should be changes and did not establish their positions in  their land beforehand, H.E. The Security Council began to talk about  some discussions and agreements regarding operations with Azerbaijan  and noted that the Azerbaijani side violated most of the agreements  that led to this situation.

"Azerbaijan violated the agreements, and in terms of our mistakes, an  investigation is underway to understand where the omissions were," he  said, also refusing to comment on the dismissal of the head of the RA  border service. Referring to the effectiveness of the work of the EU  observers, Grigoryan assured that initially Azerbaijan was determined  to discredit this mission.

"When the EU observers were stationed at the border, Azerbaijan  initially tried to discredit them, and this incident is also directed  against European observers. We expect Brussels to take appropriate  steps, as we believe that they are also concerned about the  situation," he said, adding that in Armenia's agenda is stability  along the entire border line, and expressed the hope that this issue  will also be on the agenda of the EU.

"As for Zakharova's statement that the Europeans are destabilizing  the situation with their presence, I will say that there has been a  Russian presence on our borders since the 1990s, and there have been  many cases of destabilization. I am sure that with the opportunity  and additional efforts, European observers will be able to ensure  stability," he said.

Grigoryan also admitted that there are sections in the direction of  Tegh village where the Azerbaijanis advanced and occupied the  sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, and stressed that the  border in this section was delimited, internationally recognized and  expressed his conviction that everyone stated that the Azerbaijanis  are on the territory of Armenia. 

At the same time, he once again stressed that Armenia will not  negotiate on the issue of the Berdzor/Lachin corridor, everything  there has long been determined by a tripartite statement, and the  Russian Federation should expel Azerbaijan from the corridor.  Asked  to tell about the clear position of the RA authorities on Artsakh,  Grigoryan noted that the goal of the authorities on Nagorno-Karabakh  is to create an international mechanism within which a  Baku-Stepanakert dialogue on the rights and security of Armenians  living in Nagorno-Karabakh will take place. At the same time, he is  convinced that Stepanakert itself should also formulate what it  considers a security guarantee. At the same time, he believes that  the international presence can also be civilian one, the key here is  to provide guarantees. At the same time, he did not answer the  question of whom the Armenian authorities mean by the international  presence. "There is a need for an international presence in  Nagorno-Karabakh, since many security issues are not resolved,  despite the Russian presence," he assured.  At the same time, he  admitted that while the Armenian authorities are trying to realize  the "epoch of peace", Azerbaijan in fact is trying in every possible  way to torpedo these efforts. He assured that, first of all, Armenia  needs peace in order to develop, however, he admitted that peace is  not possible only by the desire of the Armenian side, while  Azerbaijan has maximalist aspirations.   "We have never discussed with Azerbaijan the issue of "reintegration  of the Karabakh people" with Azerbaijan, we only touched upon  international mechanisms at meetings with them, but at some stage  they started talking about it," the official added.  The Secretary of  the Security Council of the Republic of Armenia also admitted that  after the 2020 war, Armenia was in vulnerable conditions, but it  continued the dialogue with the Russian Federation, including  regarding the topic that the borders of the Republic of Armenia are a  "red line", however, after two attacks on Armenia, it was necessary  to think about own security environment.  "We have repeatedly  appealed to the CSTO, and when, under various pretexts (including  non-recognition of our borders), we did not receive assistance, only  then did we try to look for alternatives. I would advise those who  accuse us of changing foreign policy to blame themselves if they do  not help, we are forced to come up with something. Moreover, I want  to note that at that time there was no Ukraine issue yet," he said,  referring to the accusations that the RA is changing the course of  development. Grigoryan believes that this is not a change of vector,  but a search for security points. According to him, if they want to  help, they will find a thousand reasons to help, and if they do not  want to help, they will find a thousand reasons to do so.

He also noted that when the CSTO recognizes the borders of the  Republic of Armenia, makes a political statement, then it will be  possible to talk about sending a mission of the Organization to the  borders of Armenia. The official also assured that the clause on  military-technical assistance to the CSTO, which was not approved at  the summit in Yerevan last fall, did not imply the supply of weapons  to Armenia (CSTO Secretary General Zas argued the opposite - ed.  note).  Regarding participation in NATO exercises, he noted that this  is primarily due to the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the  face of new challenges, and not a change in the course of  development.  Referring to the prospects for raising relations with  the US and NATO to a new level, Grigoryan confirmed that interaction  with the American side is developing dynamically, especially in the  economic field.  However, according to him, it takes time and work to  promote cooperation in the military-technical sector, and he  acknowledged that Armenia is not constrained by the CSTO membership  when communicating with other countries in the defense sector.