During a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am, Head of the Department of Information and Public Relations at the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Gevorg Altunyan said the soldiers of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia have been demarcating the borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan at Sotk mine for a few hours so that the state borders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are specified.
“The posts and footholds of the Armed Forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan will be deployed on those demarcated borders. GPS navitagors are being applied with the participation of the Russian party and through the use of special devices in order to disallow misunderstanding or provocation in the future,” he stated.
Asked if the Sotk mine is at risk of being under the control of the Azerbaijani party, Altunyan said the following: “If we take a look at the map, if the Karvachar region is under the control of Azerbaijan, certain sectors of Sotk mine will be located in that sector of Karvachar.”
The presses are spreading news that Azerbaijani servicemen have given the employees of Sotk mine time to leave the territory. In response to this, Altunyan said the Ministry of Defense has found out that the borders are being demarcated.
Altunyan refuted the news that the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have broken the gates placed near the entrance to Karvachar and entered the territory of Armenia. He added that the gates have been placed temporarily so that there is no traffic until the official demarcation is over.
Asked why the Ministry of Defense had refuted the news earlier, Altunyan said the ministry refuted the news that “the Azerbaijanis invaded the territory of the mine”, not the news that the Azerbaijanis are in Sotk.
The Prime Minister’s Spokesperson Mane Gevorgyan refuted the news that Azerbaijani soldiers are in Sotk.
The administration of Sotk village, as well as the employees and administration of Sotk mine had not been informed about the demarcation.
Head of Geghamasar village (center: Sotk) of Gegharkunik Province Hakob Avetyan didn’t get the impression that peaceful demarcation works are underway in the territory of the mine.