Ex-official slams ‘contradicting’ defense ministry statements

PanARMENIAN.Net - Former Deputy Defense Minister and Republican Party member Artak Zakaryan responded on Facebook to statements from Armenia’s Ministry of Defense and Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan, highlighting what he called “contradictions.”

“The Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired in the direction of the village of Khnatsakh in the Syunik region, damaging the community’s cultural center,” read a statement from the Ministry of Defense.

Around the same time, during a briefing with journalists at the National Assembly, Deputy Defense Minister Sargsyan stated: “Shots are occasionally fired, but they are few and not targeted.”

Zakaryan questioned the inconsistency: “So, a cultural center in an Armenian village isn’t a target? Then what is?”

He continued: “If the shooting is deliberate, that’s one thing. But if a stray burst of fire ‘accidentally’ hits the cultural center or another site, is that not a problem? Is it not dangerous?”

“What kind of logic is this?” Zakaryan wrote.

On April 13, at approximately 10:20 p.m., Azerbaijani military units opened fire toward Khnatsakh village in Syunik, damaging the local cultural center. No casualties were reported.

“We call on the Azerbaijani side to investigate the shelling of the Khnatsakh cultural center and issue a public explanation,” the Defense Ministry stated.