SARKISIAN LAUDS ARMENIAN ARMY, WARNS AZERBAIJAN

ArmenianLiberty.org
http://www.azatuty un.am/content/article/1789227.html
July 30 2009

President Serzh Sarkisian paid tribute to the Armenian Armed Forces
on Thursday, saying, in a thinly veiled warning to Azerbaijan, that
they would successfully fight back any military attack on Armenia
and Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Today we are strong, stronger than ever; our army is solid, modern and
capable of fulfilling any task," Sarkisian told hundreds of graduates
of Armenian military academies. "It has passed with honor the exam
of not only war, but peace as well, embodying the victorious spirit
of all Armenians."

"To those who threaten us with a war, we are reminding the biblical
message: ‘For all they that take the sword shall perish with the
sword,’" he said. "The irrefutable truth of these words has been
proved by the best sons of our nation, the generation of our fathers,
my generation. Let no one doubt that if necessary, the same will
happen today as well."

It was an obvious response to Azerbaijani leaders’ regular threats to
win back Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijani territories surrounding by
force. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has repeatedly told his
nation to be prepared to resume hostilities "at any moment."

A native of Karabakh, Sarkisian played a prominent role in the
Armenian-Azerbaijani war of 1991-1994. He commanded Karabakh Armenian
forces before moving to Yerevan and becoming Armenia’s defense minister
in 1993. He also served as defense minister from 2000-2007.

Sarkisian addressed the army college graduates after they solemnly
received their first military ranks and paraded in Yerevan’s main
Republic Square on the occasion. The high-profile ceremony was also
attended by other top government officials and the head of the Armenian
Apostolic Church, Catholicos Garegin II.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress