Vahagn Khachaturyan: Armenia should be sure that it will not be left  alone in case of another attack by Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.The Armenian-Russian relations and their nature are today the subject of  wide discussions at all levels in the Armenian society. Armenian  leader Vahagn Khachaturyan stated this at a briefing in Tallinn  following the results of negotiations with Estonian President Alar  Karis, referring to the Armenian-Russian relations and Russia's role  in establishing peace in the South Caucasus.

According to him, it is no secret to anyone that the relations  between Armenia and Russia are of a strategic nature, and the Russian  Federation is the guarantor of the security of the Republic of  Armenia.

"Unfortunately, in the recent period we have had many problems.  Especially after last year's September aggression of Azerbaijan. And  if before that, Azerbaijan took some kind of military action in  Nagorno- Karabakh, and we could not turn to Russia or the CSTO, since  it was not on territory of the Republic of Armenia, then in September  of last year the Azerbaijani side attacked our sovereign territories  in three directions - and in some areas advanced deep into the  territories of Armenia from 5 to 7 km. This was the case when the  CSTO and the Russian Federation had to provide us assistance,  including military assistance.  In addition, we also expected  political statements. Neither one nor the other has followed so far,"  Khachaturyan said.

At the same time, according to him, for the sake of justice, it  should be noted that Russia participated in the cessation of  hostilities. However, he continued, US Secretary of State Antony  Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Council  President Charles Michel also participated in these negotiations.

In this vein, he expressed gratitude to all parties and stated that  such small states as Armenia and Estonia cannot independently ensure  their own security and need the assistance of international  organizations or individual states.

 In this vein, the President of Armenia stated with regret that  Yerevan's expectations on the issue of security assistance functions  were not justified to the extent that was expected. "We will continue  our discussions and state our position publicly following the  results. Not everything remains unchanged, something needs to be  changed over time. Aggressive moods of our neighbor Azerbaijan are  growing," Khachaturyan said, in support of his words, he cited as an  example the statements made by President of the Republic of  Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at a press conference on January 10.   According to him, therefore, Armenia should be sure that it will not  be left alone in case of another attack by Azerbaijan.

Referring to the situation in the Lachin Corridor, Khachaturyan  recalled that, according to the trilateral statement of November 9,  2020, Russian peacekeepers provide security in the 90 km corridor.  "As a matter of fact, Russia and Azerbaijan bear the responsibility  for unhindered movement along the corridor.  Armenia, in fact, has  nothing to do there. This is a very important circumstance.  Azerbaijan actually does not fulfill its obligations to ensure  unhindered movement by creating artificial barriers. The road has  been closed since December 12," the President of Armenia said.  To  present the humanitarian situation that has developed there, he noted  that earlier up to 400 tons of food were imported to Artsakh every  day, and now only 400 cars have passed in 40 days, and that is  humanitarian ones.

"Before this incident, Russian peacekeepers performed their functions  very clearly. Over the past two years, there were 1-2 incidents that  were quickly resolved - last year the gas was turned off. Before  that, the corridor functioned well. I understand that the Russian  side does not want to use force, and is trying to resolve the  situation through negotiations. We, in fact, today have demands on  the Russian side. Of course, we also have demands on Azerbaijan, but  they always ignore them. Therefore, we hope that the Russian side  will take some action and be able to ensure the full functioning of  this corridor," he said, adding that he does not fully possess the  details of the negotiations that are currently taking place.