Armenia's ex-president, the leader of "Armenia" pre-election bloc Robert Kocharyan has responded to a question concerning the recent tension on the near-border area of Armenia's Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces where the Azerbaijani forces have advanced into the sovereign territory of Armenia.
The ex-president's comments came at a press conference with reporters on Tuesday when asked to assess the tactic of the Armenian leaders to solve the issue through negotiations and avoid using military force to prevent a large-scale war.
"First of all, we shouldn't have allowed to be treated like that. If your policy and statements leave an impression you can be treated like that, you will face similar issues in other locations as well. As long as they [ed. Azerbaijanis] have certain expectations from the Republic of Armenia over serious additional concession, they would continue exerting pressures to reach their goals including through provoking such tensions," Kocharyan said.
"Armenia must show that it will not bow to Azerbaijani pressures which is absolutely not the case in our approach in the current situation. Yes, the matter should be resolved through negotiations. But let me stress if today's issue is solved with the help of Russia, tomorrow we may face another problem on a different section of the border," added Kocharyan.