Armenia accuses Turkey for launching war in Karabakh region

In an interview with Agence France-Presse at the Government Palace in Yerevan, Nikole Pashinyan said, "If it were not for the massive movement of Turkey, this war would not have started. If it is true that the Azerbaijani authorities have adopted in a massive form in the last 15 years a war rhetoric, then the decision to start the war is due to the full support of Turkey."

The prime minister arrived in a motorcade with the protection of armed soldiers who were stationed in front of the Stalinist-era headquarters.

He also added, "It is not just a new escalation in Nagorno Karabakh," and added, "It is a process marked by massive movement of terrorist groups from the Middle East in the conflict zone," which means that the war, in his opinion, has become a "counter-terrorism operation" carried out by Armenian forces.

Ankara deployed mercenaries who came from Syria in support of the Azerbaijani army, and French President Emmanuel Macron described these as "terrorists", stressing that Turkey had crossed the "red line."

In its turn, Yerevan accuses the Turkish forces of fighting direct combat in Karabakh, especially through F-16 fighters, which are "heavily involved" in the battles, according to Pashinyan, but Turkey has strongly denied these accusations."

Pashinyan said that the war is considered of the continuation of the Turkish policy of exterminating the Armenians, stressing that "Turkey has returned to the South Caucasus to continue the Armenian genocide," referring to the killing of about a million and a half million Armenians during the Ottoman Empire during the First World War.

Pashinyan said that his country is the "last barrier" to Turkish expansion, and said, "If Europe is unable to name this situation in its name, then it has no choice but to wait for Turkey near Vienna," referring to the Ottoman Empire's control of the Austrian capital in the seventeenth century.

He also expressed his confidence that Russia will extend a helping hand to Armenia if it comes under direct attack inside its territory, as a commitment to the existing military alliance between the two countries according to a treaty.

"In the event that Armenia's security is endangered, Russia's commitment will fall within the framework of the treaty. I am confident that Russia will fulfill its obligations if the situation so requires, with regard to the international community, especially the European leaders, with whom Pashinyan has intensified his telephone consultations in recent days," he said. The best response to this terrorist operation is recognition of the independence of Nagorny Karabakh, "a matter that no member of the United Nations, not even Armenia, has initiated so far.

This comes at a time when international calls for a ceasefire are accelerating, while the clashes that broke out 10 days ago on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent areas are still in the most dangerous escalation between the two parties in more than 20 years, amid mutual accusations. With the start of launching hostilities and the recruitment of foreign militants continues.

T/S

ANHA