06 October 2020, 23:52
Russia declares Nagorno-Karabakh a point of attraction for militants
Russia sees a threat to its security in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, since the region attracts militants from international terrorist groupings to Southern Caucasus, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service claims. Russian and Iranian Foreign Ministers urged parties to the conflict to cease fire.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Turkey is recruiting mercenaries in Syria to participate in the Karabakh conflict on the side of Azerbaijan. Furthermore, Armenians from Syria and Lebanon are going to the zone of hostilities, the newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" reported. Social networks reported about natives of Chechnya who went to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh, but the information was not confirmed.
French President Emmanuel Macron reported he had got the information about the transportation to Baku of 300 militants from Syria through the Turkish city of Gaziantep. Based on the intelligence data, the US Department of State also confirmed the report about the transportation of hundreds of mercenaries from Syria through Turkey to Azerbaijan.
The region of Transcaucasia can become a springboard for terrorists in the context of the Karabakh conflict, says Sergey Naryshkin, the director of the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, as quoted by the TASS. According to him, mercenaries from terrorist organizations fighting in the Middle East are arriving to the conflict zone. Reports mention "thousands of radicals who want to make money on the Karabakh war."
The BBC reports on the recruitment of several hundred men aged 17-30, living in areas controlled by Turkey and anti-Assad forces in Syria.
According to the intelligence services of Azerbaijan, several hundred militants – Kurds and ethnic Armenians – arrived from Syria and the Middle East to Karabakh and Armenia.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 6, 2020 at 07:17 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Author: Faik Medjid Source: CK correspondent
