Chief of General Staff of Armenia: We had to choose between very bad  and tragedy

ArmInfo.As the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the immediate commander, I am responsible for all the successes and failures of the Armed  Forces, says the statement of the Chief of the General Staff of the  RA Onik Gasparyan.

 In a widespread statement, he notes that from the  first days the Armenian Armed Forces accepted with honor the war  unleashed by Azerbaijan and its ally Turkey with the involvement of  mercenary terrorists, and from the first seconds they did everything  possible and impossible.

Gasparyan stressed that the Armenian soldier fought selflessly,  fought to the death. "Some leaders accuse the leadership of the Armed  Forces of providing the head of state with an unrealistic analysis of  the possible nature of the enemy's actions and the capabilities of  his armed forces. This is not true. days and the Security Council  presented the military-political situation in the region and also the  capabilities of our Armed Forces, "the statement of the Chief of the  RA General Staff says.

At the same time Gasparyan added that on the basis of the above  analysis, he proposed steps to increase the degree of the country's  military security.

"1. Henceforth, our adversary is not only Azerbaijan, but also  Turkey. Consequently, Armenia cannot effectively resist the combined  military potential of these states; it is necessary to direct all the  political and diplomatic potential to avoid or at least postpone the  war. actions, acquiring weapons and military equipment.

2. The proposal was accepted by the Security Council and the Prime  Minister, but the question was asked:  "And if we cannot avoid war,  then what should we do?" I replied that in the war imposed on us, we  should try to inflict large loss and make him refrain from further  action. I pointed out that the need to avoid a protracted war, given  our resources. Numerous proposals were discussed and approved, the  implementation of which was supposed to significantly increase our  combat potential, including through the militias.  3. It was then  that the question of the formation of the militia was voiced  numbering 100 thousand, "Gasparyan said. However, he stated that the  war could not be avoided, and 27 September, the enemy, with many  times greater force, went to a large-scale offensive along the entire  front line in Artsakh.  According to the Chief of the General Staff  of the RA, the forces of the Artsakh Defense Army successfully  repulsed all enemy attacks, inflicting serious losses, destroying  large numbers of manpower and equipment.  "Unfortunately, our troops  also suffered heavy losses. On the fourth day of the war, during a  meeting of the Security Council, I presented our losses, as well as  the assessments of the Armed Forces on the situation, noting that in  two or three days it is necessary to take measures to end the war,  otherwise our resources will be exhausted in a short time and on each  subsequent day we will have more unfavorable conditions for the  negotiation process. "I made such assessments many times during my  round-the-clock work with the Prime Minister, as well as at the  Security Council meetings.

All attempts to stop the war at a certain stage and proposals were  rejected by Turkey and Azerbaijan, and we were forced to continue the  hostilities, trying to inflict heavy losses on the enemy and force  them to sit down at the negotiating table.

The agreement with very difficult conditions for all of us was  adopted as a result of a comprehensive assessment of the situation. I  had to choose between very bad and tragedy. We chose the very bad.  This day was the worst day of my life, a personal tragedy for me ...  but I need to quickly recover and continue the struggle. We need to  unite, and the realization that thanks to this decision it was  possible to preserve most of Artsakh, and the main military potential  of the Defense Army testifies that we have no right to lose heart,  "Gasparyan noted, adding that he bows his head to the memory of all  the fallen and their relatives.  According to the head of the General  Staff, a very cruel war was imposed on Armenia, and in the unequal  struggle the Armenian soldier and officer demonstrated determination  to fight to the end and the highest moral qualities.

He once again stressed that it was a real heroic battle for  existence, and the Armenian people can be proud of their soldier,  officer and general.

"We, comrades in arms, must continue to defend our Motherland,  conduct a serious analysis and draw conclusions, rebuild the Armenian  army, increase its combat effectiveness. We must not despair. Thank  you for your selfless service. Let us unswervingly carry out the  tasks set before us with high consciousness and responsibility, with  our unity and inviolability, we will be worthy of the selflessness of  our comrades- in-arms and holy martyrs, "Gasparyan summed up.