SEYRAN OHANYAN: IF YOU WANT PEACE, PREPARE FOR WAR

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
25.01.2010 14:09 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan said he is
always guided by the principle: "If you want peace, prepare for war".

"Azerbaijan may still use force to resolve the Karabakh conflict,
but Armenian army is always ready to defend the homeland," he said at
a meeting with students and teaching staff of Yerevan State University.

"Azerbaijan refuses to withdraw snipers from the line of contact. And
the Armenian Army is not idle. Fire is mainly commenced by the Azeri
side. We don’t respond to desultory fire but if the situation threatens
to run out of control, we’re certain to retaliate."

As Minister Ohanyan emphasized, withdrawal of snipers was repeatedly
discussed during meetings with OSCE MG Co-Chairs.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out in
1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing the latter launched in the
final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from
1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, sealed by Armenia, Nagorno
Karabakh and Azerbaijan, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks
mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.