Armenian Premier Claims Existence of Proof That Syrian Mercenaries Fight in Karabakh
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday claimed the existence of concrete proof of Turkey recruiting and transporting thousands of Syrian mercenaries to Azerbaijan for the war in the breakaway republic of Nagorno Karabakh.
“Now there is complete and comprehensive proof of thousands of mercenaries in Syria being recruited and transported by Turkey to Azerbaijan to take part in the military aggression against Artsakh [Karabakh’s endonym]”, Pashinyan wrote on Facebook, where he uploaded a video showing an interrogation of a Syrian national, who, according to the Armenian law enforcement authorities, was captured by the Karabakh forces.
Later in the day, Armenian Defence Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan made public another interrogation video and shared information about one more alleged mercenary.
The hostilities in the region broke out on 27 September, with both Baku and Yerevan blaming each other for reigniting the conflict. Turkey has been a consistent and vocal supporter of Azerbaijan’s claim over the territory, which resulted in claims that Ankara is providing military assistance to the Azerbaijani government, including by sending Syrian militants to fight in Karabakh.
On 14 October, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed such allegations, saying that Syrians have enough to do in their country. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry decried them as disinformation.