Syunik Province and Meghri town are the most vulnerable from a geopolitical point of view. Second President Robert Kocharyan, the leader of the "Armenia" bloc that will run in the snap parliamentary elections on June 20, said this during Monday’s meeting in Agarak village of Syunik Province.

"You see that the neighbors have their eyes on the region. You see what statements Azerbaijan is making. It may truly seem like a problem; but in the case of politics—an advantage. The region is interesting and attracts attention; this is both a risk and an opportunity for Armenia. It all depends on the skill of the authorities: To stay in the risk zone? Or to capitalize on the advantage?

Do you remember how they [the incumbent Armenian authorities] were saying 'Karabakh is a burden'? We were saying the opposite. Karabakh is an advantage, not a burden. Only after they lost the territory did they understand the role of Karabakh in Armenia—for the security of Armenia proper. Now we must try in this situation to turn the existing risks and difficulties into advantages on the principle of aikido [i.e., use the power of the adversary against him]. To see to it in order for us to get the maximum benefit from the position of the region," Kocharyan said.

He noted that the provision of a sustainable irrigation system can lead to multiple growth of the regional economy, and stressed the role of tourism and the free economic zone in full use.

"Those who hand over the land of their homeland are the current authorities which constantly say nice words, but from the first day they came to power, they consistently break the backbone of the country, the army. As a result, large territorial losses. And those who accuse me are themselves discussing the issue of the ‘Meghri Corridor,’" Robert Kocharyan concluded.