make preferableYEREVAN. – The Armenian army is the breath of hope and faith; it is the fruit of independence. And the Army Day is a nationwide celebration.
Former Deputy Defense Minister, Nagorno-Karabakh War veteran, Major General Astvatsatur Petrosyan stated the aforesaid to reporters on Tuesday.
Petrosyan spoke on the occasion of Army Day, the 22nd anniversary of the Armenian Armed Forces.
He stressed that the Armenian army has but one objective: to protect everything that relates to the Armenian nation, rather than merely defending the inviolability of the Armenian borders.
As per the former deputy defense minister, although the Armenian army has passed along a shining road, it is still young.
“The Armenian army was being created to defend our independence, when our home was in peril,” Petrosyan said.
The major general stressed that the Karabakh War was a liberation war for the Armenians.
“We had nothing to lose except for dependence, and we changed it with independence,” Petrosyan noted.
He added that Azerbaijan had started the war, whereas the Armenians were forced to protect their homes and families.
“But the Azerbaijani aggression was getting stronger, and a need arose to create an [Armenian] army. And while the volunteer groups were protecting the borders and fighting on the front, the Armenian army was being created in the rear,” Astvatsatur Petrosyan recalled.
