A tractor and a lawn mowing machine of Gor Karapetyan, a 61-year-old resident of the village of Haykavan in the Shirak region, was stolen due to the negligence and bad work of the Russian guards on the Armenian-Turkish border. Traces lead to Turkey.

Speaking to Panorama.am, Karapetyan said that the tractor had broken down while lawn mowing in a field belonging to Getashen community in the 3rd zone of the border zone in September.

“On September 30, the lawnmower broke down, I left it at the side of the road, 1.5-2 km away from the bar. Before going home, I informed the guards that I had left the tractor and the lawnmower close to the  crossroads. I went home at 4:20pm that day, and I said, I’d go back the next day early in the morning, “said Haykavan resident.

The next day, the man went to repair the machine to finish mowing the field.

“They said that the commander was not there, they would let me in two hours later. By the time the commander came, it was past 12 pm. I headed where I had left the machines, the tractor was not there. I did not believe my eyes, and started wondering whether the tractor had been stolen. I did not find there neither my tractor nor the lawnmower. I found the tail lights of the tractor lying there smashed. No trails of the lawnmower. I told the border guards that my equipments had been stolen and showed them the smashed parts,” said Karapetyan.

Then they made a call, some officers arrived and found that the trails were leading to Turkey, Bazrgyan village.

“At that moment, they called me in Gyumri, they came, took shots and measurements. They sent a letter to the Turkish side. They exchanged something with Turkish soldiers, I don’t know what, I did not understand,” he said.

About 50 days after the incident, Karapetyan went to the Russian guards again to see if they hadnews over the stolen a tractor. They said the machine had reached Bazrgyan village and there are no traces anymore.

“They have been stolen from where the border guards should be watching and monitoring. They haven’t been doing their work properly then if such a thing happened. They didn’t pay enough attention. The operation should have taken about 3-4 hours. My equipments cost $ 20,000. Additionally, the mowed grass is still in the field. The tractor and the mower were the source of income for my family. Now I’ve lost my equipments, the grass is left in the snow, my income is gone, and moreover, now I have to buy grass for the cattle, ” said the resident of Haikavan.

The villager has appealed to the Russian Frontier Service, the NSS Amasia division, the military police, and the Onbudsman today.

He is well aware that Armenia does not have diplomatic relations with Turkey, but says the Russians can negotiate, find the stolen equipments and return them. Russian border guards have not offered any compensation options.

“I inquired what should be done in case the machines were not found. They did not say anything, did not suggest anything. I do not want new equipments, I want mine back, or let them give me a compensation at a market price, “he said.

The villager thinks that Yerevan is not aware of the problem, otherwise it would be resolved.