24/01/2015 19:34
Vahan Shirkhanyan: Azerbaijan’s actions are guided by Turkey
Russia provides huge military-technical assistance to Armenia and helps it train Armenian servicemen, ex-Deputy Defense Minister of Armenia Vahan Shirkhanyan told reporters today.
“Russia criticizes Azerbaijan’s actions and says that the conflict should be resolved in an exclusively peaceful way,” Shirkhanyan stated. In his words, there are certain rules in foreign politics, and small countries cannot dictate their rules to superpowers.
“The Russian frontier guards perform their obligations and Armenian-Russian relations are developing in accordance with the agreements signed,” Shirkhanyan said.
According to him, Azerbaijan is not a member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and in order to deter the Azerbaijani side’s actions, Armenia should appeal to the OSCE, rather than the CSTO.
“All the incidents will be examined closely. Besides, Armenia has enough potential and force to protect its security. We know the war is not over. The tension will remain until a final political agreement is reached,” Shirkhanyan said.
In his opinion, Turkey, which still has an unresolved problem with Armenia, is provoking Azerbaijan.
“The upcoming 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide is a serious headache for Turkey and it tries to distract the international community’s attention from that date by any means. Azerbaijan too pursues a definite political goal and its steps are being guided by Turkey,” V. Shirkhanyan said.