Lusine Vasilyan
Public Radio of Armenia
Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanyan said 2014 was a rather tense year for the NKR Defense Army. “The NKR Defense Army is tasked with implementing preventive measures along with defense,” Minister Ohanyan told reporters on the sidelines of the Human Rights Conference in Yerevan.
He blamed Baku for provocations and added that Azerbaijan carries the burden for border incidents.
Speaking about the current situation at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Seyran Ohanyan said: “The border tensions periodically escalate and fade. In the past the rival was violating the ceasefire 30-50 times firing 1,000 shots, while today the number of ceasefire violations has reached 170-200 with the number shots hitting 3-6 thousand a day.”
He said the Armenian side responds only to sniper shots, ignoring the irregular firing. “But in case of provocations, we not only defend, but also take preventive measures,” the Minister added.
With inciting border provocations the rival tries to influence the negotiation process, but fails to do so. “Experience shows that we manage to defend our position at the negotiating table.”
Speaking about the helicopter of the NKR Air Force downed by Azerbaiajn during a training flight on November 12, Minister Ohanyan said “investigation is under way, and there is nothing to add for now.”
