The Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia keep the situation at the border under control, Armenian Minister of Defense Vigen Sargsyan told reporters today.

“Cases of tension at the border are simple attempts on the part of the rival to destabilize the situation, and our task is not to allow these provocations reach the target,” Minister Sargsyan said.

Speaking about the Talish family’s request for asylum in Armenia, Minister Sargsyan said “it’s yet another proof of discrimination and inhumane treatment of ethnic minorities is part of state policy in Azerbaijan.”

“As soon as we received a request from the citizen of Azerbaijan, we discussed it and concluded that there were no grounds to refuse asylum,” Vigen Sargsyan said.

“We’ll work in cooperation with international organizations to do our best to protect the man’s rights and find a permanent asylum for him,” the Defense Minister said.