Five years have passed since the 2016 April War in Artsakh. The parents of the soldiers who fell during the four-day war visited the Yerablur Military Pantheon in Yerevan on Friday.

“His jokes are still alive, his friends and we make his jokes now. We live with his jokes,” Alexander Abajyan, the father of Artsakh hero, junior sergeant Robert Abajyan, told reporters in Yerablur.

He said he often learns that parents name their children Robert after his hero son.

“I am proud that my child is appreciated, the whole nation appreciates him. God willing, the government will also appreciate [his deed],” he said.

Alexander Abajyan is convinced that the Armenian people won the April War.

The mother of Artsakh hero, Captain Armenak Urfanyan, Hamest Nersisyan, said in turn that during the April 2016 War Azerbaijan tested the strength of Armenian soldiers.

“Not being a military expert, I constantly said that there would be another war, because the defeat in the April War was stuck in their [Azerbaijanis] throats. They became more powerful and in 2020 they managed to achieve their sinister goals with the help of several countries,” Mrs. Hamest said.

“After the April War, no lessons were learned, they [the authorities] fell asleep again,” she said, stating the army must have been replenished after the 2016 hostilities.

The woman believes Armenian soldiers would have won the recent 44-day war in Artsakh in case the battles had been fought at close range, since Armenian officers are highly professional.

“This defeat is a lump in our throat,” Mrs. Hamest said.