Armenia warns of ‘serious counter-attacks’ if threatened

Thursday, January 28, 2010
YEREVAN – Agence France-Presse

[image: This picture taken on Monday shows Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev (C), Armenian President Serge Sarkisian (R), and Azerbaijani
President Ilham Aliyev (L) touring the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort in
Sochi.]

This picture taken on Monday shows Russian President Dmitry Medvedev (C),
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian (R), and Azerbaijani President Ilham
Aliyev (L) touring the Krasnaya Polyana ski resort in Sochi.

In a clear warning to arch-rival Azerbaijan, Armenian President Serge
Sarkisian said Thursday that the ex-Soviet republic’s military is ready to
carry out "serious counter-attacks" if provoked.

"Today the Armenian army is an iron guarantee that ensures our survival and
is a cold, sobering shower for any hot-headed adventurers," Sarkisian said
in a statement to mark Armenia’s Army Day public holiday.

"The author of any provocation should expect serious counter-attacks and
major surprises from the Armenian army. Not realizing this is, at the least,
naive," he said.

Sarkisian’s comments were clearly aimed at neighboring Azerbaijan, which is
locked in a long-simmering conflict with Armenia over the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian forces seized control of Nagorno-Karabakh
and seven surrounding districts from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, in a war
that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives.

The two former Soviet republics have cut direct economic and transport links
and failed to negotiate a settlement on the region’s status despite years of
negotiations.

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces are spread across a cease-fire line in and
around Nagorno-Karabakh, often facing each other at close range, and
shootings are common.

The dispute has complicated recent reconciliation efforts between Armenia
and Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey, which has called for progress in Karabakh
negotiations before it will ratify a deal signed last year to establish ties
with Armenia after decades of hostility.