Deputy Defense Minister says int’l community must stop Azerbaijan

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Deputy Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, who currently leads a delegation to the United States, said Armenia is capable to counteract any threat from Azerbaijan.

Asked whether Azerbaijan will launch air or land attacks in case of resumption of hostilities in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, Tonoyan said, “Azerbaijan will employ all possible tools, while Armenia will take retaliatory measures.”

As to the forthcoming presidential meeting in Sochi, initiated by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the deputy minister said it can result in adoption of a new statement which is unlikely to stop Azerbaijan from provocative acts.

“The international community must find the leverage to put an end to the Azeri aggression. Otherwise, the region might face bloody consequences,” he said, according to Armenia Today.

Commenting on the possibility of the deployment of Russian peacekeepers, Tonoyan said the matter wasn’t ever discussed. “The Armenian armed forces perform their duty properly and we do not consider presence of a third force, either Russia or any other country,” he said, adding that stationing of peacekeeping forces is legally possible only after the signing of a peace treaty.

“Armenia will continue keeping the military balance in the region and possesses the essential weaponry to restrain Azerbaijan. We will continue doing so unless we put our neighbor in the right way,” he said.