"MARDAKERT EVENTS UNSUCCEEDED ATTEMPT OF MILITARY ADVENTURE BY AZERBAIJAN," HAYK KOTANJIAN BELIEVES

Noyan Tapan
March 6, 2008

YEREVAN, MARCH 6, NOYAN TAPAN. An unsucceeded attempt of military
adventure by Azerbaijan. Thus Major-General Hayk Kotanjian, the Head of
the Institute of the National Strategy of the RA Ministry of Defence,
characterized the breach of the armistice by the Azerbaijani Armed
Forces in the region of Mardakert of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh,
in the interview given to the Press Service of the Ministry on March 4.

Hayk Kotanjian mentioned that the diversion group of the Azerbaijani
Armed Forces conquered one of the posts of the defence army of
the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh on March 4, as a result of which
two servicemen of the defence army were injured. The leadership
of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia, at the request of
the Karabakh side, informed Anjey Kasprchik, the representative of
the OSCE, about what had happened, as well as tried to call on the
leadership of the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan for the purpose
of immediately restoring the status-quo and the armistice.

The military department of Azerbaijan stated that Defence Minister
Safar Abiev cannot conduct telephone negotiations because of being
busy. The Armenian side took return steps and forced the Azerbaijani
servicemen out of the positions conquered by them.

Hayk Kotanjian mentioned that the Armenian military leadership,
in response to the application of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan,
informed about the readiness for creating a possibility for moving
the dead bodies of the Azerbaijani servicemen from the place of the
clash. The OSCE is aware of the fact that these facts are reliable.

General Hayk Kotanjian denied the information spread by the Azerbaijani
side, according to which the incident, allegedly, was instigated by
the Armenian side in order to deviate the attention of the population
of Armenia from the state of emergency declared in Yerevan. He also
mentioned that the official Baku is spreading false romours concerning
the losses the Armenian side suffered. "The interpretation of the
Azerbaijani side, which is built on a rude falsification of facts
and the abuse of the fact of the state of emergency in Armenia,
is an attempt of manipulation of the opinion of the international
community interested in the preservation of peace and stability in
the South Caucasus," Hayk Kotanjian mentioned.