29 June, 2017
YEREVAN (A.W.)- Azerbaijan is unlikely to initiative any full scale war in Artsakh because of the heavy losses the country would suffer, said Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan as he criticized the latest delivery of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan at a news conference.
"On the contrary, there is a great risk that the large-scale war can cause irreparable damages to the Azerbaijani state and its economy". Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry reported that one of its soldiers had been killed by the Armenian side also on June 16.
While the OSCE Minsk Group acted as the only mediator in resolution of the conflict, the occupation of the territory of the sovereign state with its internationally recognized boundaries has been left out of due attention of the global community for years.
"According to the information we have, none of those eight soldiers have been buried so far", the minister said. The Azerbaijani military denied the claim. "However, it would be foolish for Azerbaijan's military-political leadership to consciously undertake large-scale military operations", Vigen Sargsyan said. Such decisions can be easily made in a country like Azerbaijan which doesn't have civic and democratic control.
"If any official in Armenia ever says that he is encouraged by the sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan, he will definitely not be being honest", said Sargsyan who, nevertheless, said that Armenia was pleased with the implementation and progress of Armenia's military partnership with Russia.
