ROBERT KOCHARIAN: FIGHTING EFFICIENCY OF NAGORNO KARABAKH IS UP TO THE MARK
Noyan Tapan
March 5, 2008
YEREVAN, MARCH 5, NOYAN TAPAN. The incident on the contact line of
Karabakh and Azerbaijani forces on March 4 showed that the fighting
efficiency of Nagorno Karabakh self-defence forces is up to the mark,
the Armenian president Robert Kocharian stated at the March 5 press
conference.
"I don’t think it is politically correct to use such situations for
entirely different purposes," he said, meaning the Azerbaijani side
which was the first to attack. According to the Armenian president,
it is quite possible that they in Azerbaijan thought that the current
situation in Armenia has reduced the vigilance of the Karabakh armed
forces, maybe it seemed to them that some military units were sent
from Karabakh to Armenia. "This is not the case," he stated.
Azerbaijani armed forces seized a sentry post of the Karabakh
forces, then Karabakh forces took it back. However, after this the
Karabakh positions were being shelled from mine-throwers. The fire
ended as a result of the agreement reached with Azerbaijan’s defence
ministry. The foriegn minister and defence minister of Armenia got into
touch with the special representative of the OSCE chairman-in-office
Andrzei Kasprzyk who was in Baku at that time. "The normal regime
of the cease-fire must be restored along the whole contact line,"
R. Kocharian said, adding that artillery was not used on the line
for a long time but it happened on March 4.