Current absence of cross-border gunfire is result of tactical communication line – Armenian military

14:17, 3 August, 2019

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. According to the Armenian military, the quantity of gunfire attacks by Azerbaijani forces at the border have abruptly dropped in the past two days, moreover in certain individual areas no shootings took place at all.

Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Lt. General Artak Davtyan told reporters that incidents however periodically do occur at the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Asked what kind of reaction the Armenian military is giving to these incidents, Davtyan said “No less than adequate”.

Reporters asked the general to comment on the fact that previously incidents were taking place only at the Artsakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact, whereas now shootings happen at the Armenia border as well. “This kind of incidents periodically happen at the Armenia-Azerbaijan section, however they weren’t resulting in deaths and victims, that is why a reaction as such wasn’t taking place. Unfortunately we had a death and one wounded, that is why the reaction happened from the broad public,” he said.

He said that each side at the Line of Contact has “its own goals and missions”.

“We’ve regularly had tension at the Tavush and Gegharkunik provinces sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, in the Nakhijevan direction, we have 1-2 cases of tension growth monthly, after which we have decrease or halt of gunfire. We must understand that the Line of Contact is an organism or a mechanism, which is constantly functioning, it’s not like everything is calm and that everything is turning out smoothly as we want to. These are bilateral processes, each party has its own goals and missions and wants to strengthen their positions by not allowing the adversary to strengthen theirs,” Davtyan said.

Asked whether or not the so called “operative communication – an emergency tactical line created between Armenia and Azerbaijan – was used, Davtyan said it was.  “The tactical communication is used based on necessity, in each case where growth of tension happens, of course we get in contact, as of this specific moment the absence of gunfire is a result of the tactical communication,” he added.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan