Armenian FM: Israel should stop this deadly arms business with  Azerbaijan

ArmInfo.Israeli weapons sold to Azerbaijan are used to target Armenian civilian infrastructure and arms sales between the country should be stopped immediately.   Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan stated this in an  interview with The Jerusalem Post.

Accordind to the source, in an interview in the midst of the ongoing  conflict with Azerbaijan, Mnatsakanyan said that while  Israeli-Armenian relations have improved in recent years - the  Armenian president was in Israel in January - Israel's continued  supply of advanced weaponry to Azerbaijan remains an outstanding  issue for the countries.

Azerbaijan is a known close ally of Israel, supplies Israel with  about 40% of its oil needs and is a longtime customer of an  assortment of Israeli defense companies, buying drones, missiles and  other advanced weapon systems. In 2016, Azerbaijani President Ilham  Aliyev revealed that his country has signed $5 billion worth of  long-term contracts over the years to buy weapons and security  equipment from Israel.  "Arms trade to Azerbaijan is fatal, because  Azerbaijan never hesitates to use those weapons against civilian  infrastructure, the civilian population," Mnatsakanyan told the Post.  "We will consistently pursue this issue, it will always be an  integral part of our agenda both on bilateral and multilateral  platforms. Israel should stop this deadly business with Azerbaijan."

Azerbaijan and Armenia - neighboring countries and former Soviet  republics - have long been at odds over Azerbaijan's breakaway,  mainly ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia, which has  a military base in Armenia, has urged the two sides to cease fire and  show restraint. The latest fighting began around the Tavush region in  northeastern Armenia, some 300 km from the enclave. Dozens of  soldiers on both sides have been killed.  According to Mnatsakanyan,  the recent outbreak of violence "did not happen in a vacuum." On  Monday, Armenia said that one of its soldiers had been killed by  Azerbaijani sniper fire at the northeastern section of the  Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Russia, which has a military  base in Armenia, has urged the two sides to cease fire and show  restraint. The latest fighting began around the Tavush region in  northeastern Armenia, some 300 km from the enclave. Dozens of  soldiers on both sides have been killed.

According to Mnatsakanyan, the recent outbreak of violence "did not  happen in a vacuum." On Monday, Armenia said that one of its soldiers  had been killed by Azerbaijani sniper fire at the northeastern  section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border.

"On the eve of the escalation Azerbaijan at the level of highest  political- military leadership has been consistently voicing threats  of war, territorial and historic claims against Armenia, coupled with  very vocal dissatisfaction of the work of the international mediators  - the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," he said.

He said that it was the second attempt by Azerbaijan to try and  resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh "exclusively on their  terms" but the "that show of force by Azerbaijan and its perceived  military advantage dramatically failed and we have a clear case of  miscalculation" Asked about reports that Armenia has successfully  downed a number of Israeli-made drones operated by Azerbaijan, the  foreign minister said that the country was acting against Azerbaijan  with disregard to where those weapons came from.

"For us those weapons are deadly as they kill our people,"  Mnatsakanyan said. "Our military has neutralized Azerbaijani weapons  regardless of their perceived origins. Facts about weaponry obtained  by Azerbaijan and used against civilian infrastructure and population  of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh are numerous and the July events  serve as an additional proof."

Turning to Israel's persistent refusal to recognize the Armenian  genocide, Mnatsakanyan said: "Recognition of the Armenian Genocide by  a nation who survived the horrors of the Holocaust is a moral issue.   It's on your conscience. I know that many Jews - public  personalities, intellectuals and ordinary people - strongly share  this point of view.  However, it is up to the authorities of Israel  to recognize the Armenian Genocide or refrain from doing it. It's not  only about Armenia but Israel as well."

Despite the recent flareup in violence, the foreign minister said  that Armenia was prepared to resume the ceasefire that had been in  place Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan since 1994.

"Unlike Azerbaijan, Armenia agreed to all proposals of the  international mediators to strengthen the ceasefire by putting on the  ground more monitors and introducing investigative mechanisms into  ceasefire violations," he said. "Armenia continues to advocate those  and other measures to reduce risks of escalation."