Current Borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic as Safeguard of Security: Strategic Issues of Military Geography

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YEREVAN, Armenia – On April 29th, the American University of Armenia Alumni Club hosted a public talk on the strategic importance of the current borders of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/Artsakh, and how those borders are vital for the security of the people in Artsakh, Armenia, and the whole region from wide-ranging perspectives. The guest speakers were Political Analyst Hrant Meliq-Shahnazaryan, Expert on Information Security Tigran Kocharyan, and Editor at Razm.info and Expert on Information Security Karen Vrtanesyan.

Hrant Meliq-Shahnazaryan spoke about the crucial roles of the Republic of Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in terms of security for the overall South Caucasus region. He presented the importance of the liberated territories, and discussed the political and ethno-psychological aspects of the conflict.

Tigran Kocharyan explained how his camp urged Armenian news outlets to incorporate territories outside the oblast as part of Karabakh. He stated how all maps displayed in Armenia with Karabakh include all surrounding territories as part of Armenia. He mentioned how Karabakh, up to the Kura River, has historically been part of Armenia. Mr. Kocharyan stressed that we should know that all of Karabakh is what we are fighting for and not just the autonomous oblast, and provided a detailed description on the importance of each region of Karabakh.

Karen Vrtanesyan spoke about the recent escalation on the frontline, information security, and the continuation of the conflict in the virtual realm. His talk was about how to ensure news sources are solid, outlined on the importance to keep our side of the story as factual as possible, and debunked many news stories that was propagated by Armenian social media. In addition, Mr. Vrtanesyan provided examples about what Razm.info info keeps track of, in regards to events with investigative journalism, and also gave insights and details on some of the stories covered and how they confirmed it.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia and affiliated with the University of California. AUA provides US-style education in Armenia and the region, offering high-quality, graduate and undergraduate studies, encouraging civic engagement, and promoting public service and democratic values.