In Armenia, residents of border villages urge authorities to arm them

Several groups of Azerbaijani soldiers left the territory of Armenia, but some of them remain in their new positions. The close deployment of the Azerbaijani troops alarmed residents of the Syunik Region, and they called on the local authorities to provide them with firearms.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on May 12, the Azerbaijani armed forces advanced into the Black Lake region. Armenia considered the above march an invasion into the Syunik Region. Baku claims that border guards only changed their location. United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan called on Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliev to hold talks on the demarcation of the state borders between the countries.

In general, the situation on the border has not changed, and the negotiations are likely to continue on May 19, the Armenian Ministry of Defence (MoD) reports.

A resident of the Vagatur village in the Syunik Region of Armenia, five kilometres from the Black Lake, says that villagers always took their animals to the lake area, but now they have lost such an opportunity, since “the entire territory is under the gun of the Azerbaijanis.”

A resident of the village of Verishen believes that it would be a correct decision “for the government to arm residents of border villages.” According to him, the villagers “cannot sleep peacefully, since they know there are armed Azerbaijanis five kilometres away from them.”

On May 14, residents of the Syunik Region blocked a highway with the demand to the authorities to provide residents of border villages with firearms.