The fighting continues in the separation-of-forces line between Armenian-held Nagorno-Karabakh and military forces of Azerbaijan region with both sides issuing contradictory statements on the extent of military operations. The Armenian government stated, “Turkish military experts are fighting side by side with Azerbaijan, who are using Turkish weapons, including UAVs and warplanes. According to credible sources, Turkey is recruiting and transporting foreign terrorist fighters to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Turkey provides full political and propaganda support to Azerbaijan at the highest level of its leadership.”
Armenia is an official ally of Russia and hosts Russian bases as well as 5,000 Russian troops, who are responsible for patrolling the Armenian-Turkish border. Armenian Ambassador to Moscow Vardan Toganyan told the Govorit Moskva radio station today that Yerevan and Moscow continue to boost defense cooperation. “We believe that, should the need arise, we will request Russia [for additional military assistance],” the envoy said, reported TASS. “As of today, we don’t think that we need additional troops or other forces. However, we do believe that Russia has a major role in the Caucasus and is capable of using political methods to put an end to bloodshed.” He later told RIA Novosti that Turkey had transferred 4,000 Syrian fighters to aid Azerbaijan. Russia, along with the U.S. and France, is a member of the OECD Minsk contact group, responsible for mediating the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh—a largely Armenian-ethnic enclave in Azerbaijan—between the two countries since 2016. Russia, U.S. and France have all three called for both sides to end the fighting.
