On November 13 the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan paid an official visit to the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. The president of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan and the president of Karabakh Bako Sahakyan were with the company of the Armenian defense minister Seyran Ohanyan and other high rank officials and visited defense points, got acquainted with the military preparations of the armed forces and the current works of army building. According to a statement published by the presidents’ press department, following this visit the president will hold a meeting with the high rank officials. According to Serzh Sargsyan, the military trainings that took place in the vicinity of Aghdam are an answer to the threats spoke from the other side of the border. “What we saw today is really very impressive. This is the best proof of the fact that our army develops and improves every month, every year; it becomes more organized, powerful, manageable, stronger and better. All what we have is enough to give a strong and collapsing kick to our potential enemy, but we will not be limited with this and we will add to what we have and will strengthen our military capacity, armaments because very interesting processes are happening in our neighboring country. The military trainings that were very close to real conditions should be a warning for others to show that if time comes we will not only repeat what happened in 92-94 but we will finally solve the problem, and the issue will be closed finally. What should we do to reach our goal? We should always be careful, we should always be ready. Nobody must suspect about your (those of the officers and soldiers) potential and professionalism like I do not suspect, because the provocations still continue, they shoot, people are killed and not everyone pays a due attention to this behavior of Azerbaijan. Thus we should be ready; our military actions that were so close to real conditions should be a warning for others, and these should be a norm of life for us. During these military trainings the army officials should demonstrate their knowledge, and the soldiers – their abilities, and the commanders should always improve their skills. This is the way we must keep on; we don’t have other choice. As the general commander, as the head of the state, dear soldiers and officers, I promise that you will feel a need for anything. We will get modern facilities like the ones we have now, we will have anything to save the most important and expensive thing for us – the lives of ournsoldiers and officers. All what we have now is enough too for solving the problems that may arise,” said the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan. He also assured that everything will be done to keep the borders strong and the life of the Armenian soldiers secure. Serzh Sargsyan says that the enemy connects all their failures with the Armenians and the anti-Armenian mood has become a state policy. The president says that the opponent speaks of a war all the time and tries to frighten Armenia. “But we havepassed that way. My military friends and elder officers that are here remember how whoever was not lazy in Azerbaijan in 1992 was speaking about how they were going to drink tea in Stepanakert or Shushi. The dream of many of those people stayed in themselves and they took this dream to the other world with them. At that time they thought they were strong too and they believed too that they could solve the problem, and in a short period.”
Last week the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev visited the territories around Aghdam that are under the control of Azerbaijan. He again announced that the official Baku is ready to return Karabakh with force, in case if the negotiations with Armenia don’t bring any tangible results in the near future. “I don’t suspect that our armed forces are ready to solve their problem with honor and in a short period,” said Aliyev. In answer to this announcement Serzh Sargsyan said, “We have never wanted a war, at that time we had to protect our fatherland, now we cannot be the first one to attack either, but if time comes, and if we have to fight, this time our attack will be crucial and the last one.”
By the way, on Saturday the head of Azerbaijan’s defense ministry press department Eldar Sabiroglu said that the military trainings near Aghdam by the Armenian armed forces are “children’s games” and added, “It is not done for the purpose of raising the military potential. Their military trainings already remind of children’s games. There cannot be any other opinion. Neither the Armenian army nor the powers concentrated in the territories “occupied” from Azerbaijan don’t have resources to organize large-scale and bigger military trainings. As soon as true ideas are spoken about the fact that Armenia is collapsing and left by people, or concrete announcements are made about the settlement of the conflict, they collect 5-6 tanks and 1-2 military vehicles in Nagorno Karabakh, and sometimes by shooting a couple of times, they call it a large-scale military training on part of Armenia.”