Armenia employs tactics to gain time: Azerbaijani military expert

Day.Az: What are your views about the reports claiming that Armenian Armed Forces are strengthening their positions along contact line in the Fizuli and Khojavand regions by mining neutral zones?

Uzeyir Jafarov: In 1994, shortly before signing of the ceasefire agreement, Armenian Armed Forces mined front area of the contact line. Of course, term of mines expire after certain time. Hence, one of the reasons for Armenian side’s current actions is that term of the previously planted mines has either expired or they have exploded due to a number of reasons. So,  Armenians replace them with new ones. However, I also believe the Armenian troops’ key objective is to strictly follow the tactics of causing complications in process of establishing real peace in our region through gaining time.

Mining areas on the front line they try to gain time that Azerbaijan will need to clear territories mined by the opposite side. Current actions of the Armenian Armed Forces are blended with the actions of Armenia’s top leaders who also have sought  to prolong just settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for fifteen years.

Q: Is strengthening of Armenians’ position on the front line interrelated with Armenian President Serzh Sagsyan’s visit to Nagorno-Karabakh?

A: This is true to a certain extent.. Because, Sezh Sargsyan, besides being president of Armenia, is also Supreme Commander of the country. Moreover, we must not forget that the current Armenian president came into power whilst there was a war in Nagorno-Karabakh. Especially because, as I noted above, the current actions of the Armenian army consistent with the policies pursued by country’s highest political leadership which are aimed at delaying fair settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Q: If the key objective is only to gain time, why the Armenian side holds military exercises in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories?

A: Let's start with the fact that probability of early full-scale hostilities is too low. Such a scenario does not meet the tactics of the enemy to prolong  fair settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. This issue once again indicates Armenians’ skills  to exaggerate. I mean Armenia portrays rather modest army exercises as large-scale maneuvers.

The Azerbaijani army conducts larger military exercises. However, these exercises are not advertised. Although it is quite possible Azerbaijan could conduct military exercises involving both domestic and foreign media to frighten the enemy. It would actually make a sense.

/Day.Az/