People are under a heavy pressure and in a situation where many of them choose to leave the border villages, Special Representative for the South Caucasus, Herbert Salber, said in an interview with Radio Liberty after visiting the border villages of Armenia and meeting with the residents thereof for the first time within the framework of his regional visit.

Asked what the purpose of his visit to the border villages of Armenia was, Salber noted that he aimed to see with his own eyes how people live there in that tense situation, being targeted by salvo from the opposite side. He thanked for the opportunity of receiving information from the Red Cross representatives about the situation. Salber also noted that he managed to meet with young girls and boys, as well as elderly people on the square of one of the villages.

The Special Representative expressed concern about the figures, according to which the population of the country has reduced in the recent years, people having more opportunities in other places, including Yerevan. Although this wasn’t unexpected for the official, he was positively surprised by the fact that people say they are tired of this situation. They want peace and a situation, which would enable them to normally communicate with the other side like this was done decades ago, he stressed, adding that people want this division to end.

Salber noted that the elderly people sincerely said that they want all this to end, hoping that the responsible political figures will be able to achieve peace.

Referring to the process of conflict resolution, the Special Representative expressed hope that the situation will change. In his words, during the last months they witnessed stagnation of efforts, but now this stage will end and the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan along with their Russian counterpart will speak about these issues. Moreover, he expressed hope that that meeting will contribute to the negotiation process, which, according to the official, is utterly important.