Artak Zakaryan criticizes Defense Ministry over contradictory statements

Former Deputy Defense Minister and Republican Party member Artak Zakaryan has criticized what he describes as contradictory statements from Armenia’s Defense Ministry regarding recent Azerbaijani gunfire.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry said that Azerbaijani troops opened fire towards the village of Khnatsakh in Armenia’s Syunik Province late on Sunday, damaging the local cultural center.

Deputy Defense Minister Arman Sargsyan downplayed the incident as he spoke to reporters at the National Assembly.

"Gunfire does occur from time to time, but it is limited and not targeted," he stated.

"If the cultural center of an Armenian village isn’t considered a target, then what is? Are we supposed to believe that deliberate fire poses a threat, but indiscriminate gunfire that 'accidentally' damages a cultural center or other infrastructure is not serious?" Zakaryan wrote on Facebook.