Armenian News-NEWS.am talked to Advisor to the President of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) Tigran Abrahamyan about the situation on the border and the process of negotiations over the Artsakh issue.

Armenian News-NEWS.am: The Ministry of Defense of Armenia and the Defense Army of Artsakh issued official statements on the adversary’s activity in the direction of Armenia’s Tavush Province and Artsakh. How would you assess the overall situation?

Tigran Abrahamyan: These statements stated the change of the current situation on the border. The adversary’s actions are anticipated processes and show that its intention is to do everything it can to cause harm. The manifestations and intensity depend on the specific situation.

Armenian News-NEWS.am: You mentioned “anticipated processes”. Why do you consider them anticipated?

Tigran Abrahamyan: Firstly, the adversary’s activity is anticipated due to the current state of the negotiations, and the foreign minister of one of the co-chairing countries has described them as frozen.

Secondly, during a consultation held ten days ago, Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense set the objective to use “coarse measures” and prevent fortification-engineering works underway in our sector. It is clear that this was an order to be more active on the border.

Armenian News-NEWS.am: Are steps being taken to prevent Azerbaijan’s potential provocations?

Tigran Abrahamyan: We obviously have our plans to prevent the adversary’s actions and implement necessary actions and, in any case, there will be counterattack and punitive operations.

Armenian News-NEWS.am: Do you see a link in the activity of the adversary in Tavush Province and Artsakh?

Tigran Abrahamyan: The adversary’s actions in Artsakh, Tavush Province, Vayots Dzor Province or Syunik Province are all part of a chain, and the potential activity in this or that front is merely tactical.

Armenian News-NEWS.am: In this case, how can the adversary’s future provocations be prevented?

Tigran Abrahamyan: First of all, the co-chairs need to be more active and work effectively with the parties.

On the one hand, the negotiations are frozen, and on the other hand, there are no active efforts to push the process forward. This poses a danger and leads to uncertainty.

As far as the armed forces are concerned, even today, the army implements its functions efficiently, but we need to use all the levers to move the struggle to the diplomatic level and ensure continuity of the process.