Tunyan on situation in Kirants: There are always satisfied and  dissatisfied people

ArmInfo. MP from the ruling "Civil Contract" party in Armenia, Babken Tunyan, is ready to think about an 

official invitation to a meeting with the leader of the "Tavush for the Motherland" movement, Primate of the Tavush Diocese of the Armenian Apostolic Church, Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan.

As Tunyan said on May 17 in a conversation with reporters, he could 

not even think that a situation would ever arise where the church 

actually initiates a movement with the agenda of an actual change of 

power, but life has changed in such a way that nothing can be ruled 

out.

When asked if he met with Bagrat Galstanyan and whether he would meet 

if such a proposal was made, the pro-government MP replied: "If the 

archbishop officially proposes a meeting and presents its agenda, 

then I will think about it. However, I don't see such a need."

According to him, he does not know the agenda of the movement. "I 

thought the issue of security of Kirants, Voskepar, Tavush was on the 

agenda. But now we see movement, people are expressing their point of 

view, holding actions of disobedience. These are processes 

characteristic of a democratic country. If they manage to convince 

the majority of the people or complete the process of expressing no 

confidence, as far as I remember, they gave dates, then anyone can 

continue this process. "I don't see any problem," he said.  

Commenting on the situation in Kirants and the contradictions in the 

assessments of the authorities and village residents regarding the 

protocol-description of the border sections in Tavush (the 

authorities consider this a success, while local residents closed the 

road in protest, ed. note) Tunyan noted: "According to my data, the 

Kirants road is currently open. Of course, people are dissatisfied, 

and these dissatisfaction and concerns are obvious. No matter what 

decisions are made, there are always satisfied and dissatisfied 

people. It is clear that some of our citizens will be inconvenienced, 

certain problems will arise with their property, but if this is 

necessary from the point of view of the general security of Armenia, 

then it must be balanced."

On May 15, the RA government published details of the 

protocol-description for the delimitation of a number of areas in 

Tavush.  As it became known from a message from the administration of 

the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, three coordinates in 

the Kirants area have been determined using a computer; the markers 

will be installed later. "The other markers have been installed.  

Good news for Kirants is that the village will regain about 25 

hectares of agricultural land that has been inaccessible to Kirants 

for the past 33 years. The border description is exactly as presented 

on the 1976 map. As mentioned earlier, the issue of road relocation 

will arise, but it can be addressed within 2-3 months.  Additionally, 

the road leading from highway H-26 to Acharkut and further to 

Kirants, which serves as an alternative for Kirants, will be 

repaired. Regarding property matters, their scope will not be large, 

and any damage suffered by citizens in such cases will be compensated 

by the state through property or financial means according to their 

preference.  Government representatives will commence inventorying 

potential issues and engaging in discussions with Kirants residents 

early in the morning," the government stated. It is expected that 

border guards from both sides will stand at the agreed border in the 

next 8-9 days. 

The next day, at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers, Prime 

Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that he considers the signing of a 

protocol of this description a great success.