Armenpress presents the PM’s interview:
Le Figaro: You accuse Turkey of providing military assistance to Azerbaijan. What evidence do you have?
Nikol Pashinyan: Yes, we have evidence. Russia, France and the United States have already accepted that on the 27th of September the Turkish army has been engaged in the large-scale attack against Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). Turkish high-ranking officials have publicly confirmed their support to Azerbaijan not only in the political and diplomatic, but also in the battle field. They are using Turkish-made UAVs and F-16s for bombarding the civilian zones of Nagorno Karabakh. The international community, in particular the American community should know that the F-16s produced in the United States today are being used for targeting Armenians. There are facts which prove that the Turkish military leadership is directly engaged in conducting attacks. Ankara has sent military vehicles, ammunition and military consultants to Baku. We also know that Turkey has trained thousands of mercenaries from its occupied territories in Syria’s north and transported them. Today these mercenaries and terrorists are fighting against Armenians. Most of them even do not know why Turkey has deployed them there. While in Azerbaijan they understood that they have been deceived. We know that these terrorists are taking drugs, because syringes full of drugs were found in their pockets. We can suppose that 30% of the casualties of the Azerbaijani side are foreign mercenaries.
Le Figaro: Do you think that Turkey is responsible for this escalation?
Nikol Pashinyan: Definitely. The Turkish-Azerbaijani joint military exercise which launched in August is not over yet. In fact the attack against Nagorno Karabakh is the second phase of that operation. After training they decided to start an attack, and they should be held responsible for that escalation.
Azerbaijan, which launched an attack on Armenia in July, but suffered a loss on the border, has applied for Turkey’s help. It’s obvious that Ankara is the decision-maker in many key issues of the situation. Their goal is to violate the regional balance of power for their benefit.
Le Figaro: What do you mean?
Nikol Pashinyan: Turkey’s goal is to strengthen its role and influence in the South Caucasus and violate a century-old status quo. It dreams of creating an empire similar to sultanate and has chosen a path which can set the region on fire.
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