Foreign media
Reports of on the alleged deployment of Syrian mercenaries by Turkey to Azerbaijan are false.
This is reflected in an analytical article, entitled “Complex information and propaganda about Turkey’s deployment of Syrian mercenaries to Azerbaijan”, by Hiroyuki Aoyama, Professor of University of Tokyo.
In his article, the professor informs Japanese readers about the clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan which started on September 27. He notes that the clashes involving heavy artillery and large-caliber weapons continued on September 28 and 29, as a result of which nearly 100 people, including civilians, were killed.
The author said that the Armenian side reports the alleged participation of mercenaries from the Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army.
“The rumors about Syrian sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan are another provocation of the Armenian side,” the professor cited Hikmat Hajiyev, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, as speaking to Reuters.
Aoyama referred to the statement made by Colonel Vagif Dargahli, head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s press service: “Mercenaries from Syria and the Middle East are fighting on the Armenian ranks in Karabakh. According to intelligence data, the enemy has lost a large number of mercenaries from Syria and the Middle East, but they were not registered in Armenia.”
The Japanese professor also added to his article the statement by the press secretary of the European Commission that these allegations were not confirmed. On September 29, EU spokesman Peter Stano stated that the reports of Turkey sending Syrian mercenaries to Azerbaijan are not true.
Aoyama also stated that the Council of Europe warned about a possible escalation of the situation in the case of the intervention of other countries in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.