ArmInfo. An article by a columnist for the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta, "Syrian militants in Azerbaijan are preparing for a blitzkrieg in Armenia," sparked anger in Baku.
Thus, the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, responding to the content of the publication, called the article biased, and the information in it is completely inappropriate, while they chose to forget the fact that as recently as during the "four-day" April 2016 war, actual evidence was obtained about the fact that ISIS fighters fought on the Azerbaijani side, beheading Armenian soldiers and mutilating their bodies. In other matters, according to tradition, the Azerbaijani side did not stop there and was unable to accept constructive accusations, decided to "shift the arrows" to Armenia, advising the author of the article to pay attention to the bill of the RA Defense Ministry on the formation of a militia in the republic. Azerbaijan, apparently concerned about the formation of a popular militia in Armenia, was assured that it is not excluded that, referring to this law, the RA, thereby, will legitimize the issue of recruiting its army with mercenaries and terrorists deployed from hot spots in the Middle East, in particular from Syria and Lebanon ", apparently meaning by the mercenaries of the Armenian repatriates from these countries, who, if this bill is adopted, are not prohibited from joining the ranks of the militias, which will be formed on a voluntary basis. Well, and of course, in the Azerbaijani defense department, for greater persuasiveness, in conclusion they flapped their weapons, once again assuring that they are capable of resolving the Karabakh issue by force at any time.
Below is an article published in NG without changes:
"A number of Telegram channels covering conflict events in the world reported that about 500 Syrian militants were deployed to Azerbaijan, mostly Turkomans from the Sultan Murad armed formations, the Free Syrian Army and Khamzat. Sources of NG" claim that the information is verified and most likely it is true. Recently, a protest action was held in Baku, the participants of which called on Turkey "to save Azerbaijan from Armenians and Russians." Waving the flags of Turkey, they demanded from the authorities "to place a Turkish military base and take revenge for the July battles on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border."
Turkish television showed footage from the demonstration, and some Russian media and Internet portals duplicated them. There was no official Moscow reaction to this, and it is unclear whether Baku sanctioned this rally. Orientalist Igor Dimitriev, commenting on the action in his Telegram channel, claims that "in fact, the Turks have already created a military base in Azerbaijan." "There are active rumors that after the exercises (meaning the Azerbaijani-Turkish maneuvers that took place in July - early August 2020 - NG) left in Azerbaijan some of its military, including F-16 aircraft with personnel in addition to the Turkish UAVs unit, "the expert notes.
These conclusions are indirectly confirmed by the Turkish political scientist, leading expert of the Ankara- Moscow expert-analytical network Engin Ozer, who is actively quoted by the Azerbaijani media. He claims: "The Turkish military is already present in Nakhichevan, why not give them an official status, because there are no legal obstacles for this."
The Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah, in an article published the other day, asserted that during the Azerbaijani-Turkish contacts held after the military exercises, in which Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev took part, "the issues of creating a Turkish military base in Nakhichevan (this is the capital of Nakhichevan. -" NG ") and the creation of another military base on the Absheron Peninsula>. Note that the talks in the media and the expert community about the Turkish military base are being conducted against the backdrop of a smoldering conflict on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan reports that units of the Armed Forces of Armenia violated the ceasefire at least 30 times every day over the past week. Similar accusations against the Azerbaijani army are heard from the Armenian side. At the same time, Baku believes that the aggravation on the border of the two countries, which began in July 2020, is indirectly supported by Moscow.
If Russia is considered Armenia's ally in this situation, then Turkey will stand behind Azerbaijan in the conflict. "Several years ago, Turkey had no military bases outside its territory, with the exception of a military presence in the occupied part of Cyprus, and today Turkey has military bases in Somalia, Qatar, Iraq and Syria," the Daily Sabah newspaper writes. Libya can be safely added to this list. Note that support on behalf of Ankara in resolving conflict situations in almost all regions where its military bases are located is provided not only by regular government forces, but also by the so-called pro-Turkish proxy formations. If they have already appeared in Azerbaijan, it means that Baku does not exclude a military scenario and the provision of Turkish assistance in resolving the territorial conflict with Armenia. Moscow is trying to contain such aspirations. After the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, called his colleague Vladimir Putin and expressed dissatisfaction with the supply of military supplies to Yerevan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Baku. He stated that the planes were delivering "building materials for the Russian military base" to Armenia and that the Russian Federation does not conduct hostile actions against Azerbaijan. But it is not known whether the minister convinced Baku. Telman Abilov, head of the Azerbaijani Association "Military Lawyers", believes that the aggravation of the situation on the border with Armenia may be associated with gas supplies. "The escalation took place precisely after Turkey reduced the purchases of Russian gas to a minimum. At the same time, Ankara diversified its sources of energy resources, including through purchases of Azerbaijani gas. On the other hand, Azerbaijani gas will begin to flow to southern Europe as early as this fall. , where it will also compete with the Russian one, "he said. Igor Dimitriev also writes in his Telegram channel that there is an opinion in Azerbaijani society that "the Russian-Armenian invasion is aimed at disrupting the construction of a transport corridor between the Caspian and Black Seas."
"The Russian leadership, apparently, is really concerned not so much with the trans-Caspian corridor, but with the fact that Turkey, the NATO state, which has the largest army in the alliance after the United States, is demonstrating its military presence in Transcaucasia," military expert, reserve colonel Shamil Gareev told NG "The possibility of a real appearance there of its military base, as well as of Syrian pro-Turkish militants, further intensify the escalation and do not serve the peaceful resolution of the Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict."