The United States will help increase control to maintain the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh (NK) conflict zone, the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, Davit Tonoyan, told the Voice of America.
US will help Armenia maintain ceasefire in the Nagorno- Karabakh conflict zone
STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 1, ARTSAKHPRESS: During the talks in Washington D.C., representatives of the US defense and foreign policy departments stressed that the US is very much interested in maintaining this ceasefire, and it stands ready to assist increase control in that zone.
“It was stressed, both at the Pentagon and the US Department of State, that it is indispensable to strengthen the measures that will contribute to the maintenance of peace,” noted Tonoyan. “The creation of investigative mechanisms plays a huge role in terms of preventive measures for ceasefire violation.”
As per the Armenian deputy defense minister, international observers should be given a mandate to investigate ceasefire violations, and, furthermore, a chance should be given to install—under the auspices of international observers—special sensors on the border and the Line of Contact of the armed forces.
“There is no military solution to the NK conflict,” he added. “The matter has already been resolved by military means.”
In addition, Davit Tonoyan reflected on the other domains in Armenian-American military cooperation, and pointed to three main directions. First, the US will continue assisting in the ongoing defense reforms in Armenia. Second, the US will assist Armenian peacekeepers in Afghanistan, Kosovo and Lebanon, and, in the future, possibly also in Mali. And third, Armenia is committed to providing single core battalions for the peacekeeping operations being conducted under the auspices of the UN.
