There are 36 people in the police's line of sight: Osipyan

I believe there will be apprehensions; currently, there are 36 people in the police's line of sight, and already 22 have been detained. This statement was made today by the Chief of Police of Armenia, Valery Osipyan, during a conversation with journalists after a consultation held in the Tavush regional administration.

Responding to allegations that the clashes between protesters and police yesterday, on July 17, were provoked by police officers, he noted that residents have made demands of the police, which he considers unacceptable. “I categorically deny this. It is natural that residents would say that; no more, no less… Residents were placing conditions before the police, negotiating under conditions: ‘Mr. Osipyan, remove the checkpoints… return our vehicles, return the items that were in our vehicles without any documents, and then we will negotiate with the police or free up the road,’ ” Osipyan said.

In response to a question about the more than ten cases related to illegal logging at the NSS recently and what actions the police have taken, Osipyan replied, “We have relevant materials created in various departments, there are apprehensions, preventive measures have been taken, we have stationary checkpoints, etc. Work has been carried out continuously.” Osipyan mentioned that he sees no current danger of a repeat of the tense situation: “It is possible that I will remain here today.”