Armenian general blames Azerbaijan for tension on Karabakh front

Arminfo
9 May 05

YEREVAN

The Armenian army is ready to tackle the tasks facing it, Chief of the
General Staff Col-Gen Mikael Arutyunyan has said.

Mikael Arutyunyan confirmed increased tension on the contact line
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani armed forces this year and
stressed that this was the consequence of the Azerbaijani leadership’s
bellicose statements. Both sides have incurred losses in exchanges of
fire, he said.

“There are several killed and wounded from our side. But their number
does not correspond to the Azerbaijani side’s reports which increase
the number of casualties tenfold,” the general noted, adding that the
Azerbaijani side had suffered more losses.

“There are many killed from the Azerbaijani side. The Armenian side
has this information. Therefore I would advise the Azerbaijani
leadership not to make bellicose statements since they automatically
affect the officers and soldiers on the front line and create
tension,” Arutyunyan noted, expressing the hope that Baku would
reconsider its position and stop whipping up bellicose hysteria.

Meanwhile, he noted that if Azerbaijan resumes hostilities, it will
lose the war.

“I know the military capability of both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and I
am sure that they will lose. Moreover, they will lose not one fight,
but vast stretches of land and many people,” Mikael Arutyunyan said.