Armenian Deputy FM told UN representatives about use of mercenaries  by Azerbaijan in Artsakh in fall of 2020

ArmInfo.On February 20-27, the United Nations Working Group on the use of mercenaries as a means  of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination, headed by Ravindran Daniel paid a  working visit to Armenia.

As the press service of the RA MFA reports, the aim of the visit of  the Working Group was exploring the existing legal framework of  Armenia after the ratification of the International Convention  Against the Recruitment, Use, Financing and Training of Mercenaries  and measures undertaken for the effective implementation of the  Convention.

On February  20-22, the Working Group had meetings with different  agencies of Armenia.  Afterwards, the representatives of the group  had a working visit to the city of Kapan in the Syunik region, where  they had meetings with the Head of the Syunik Regional Administration  and representatives of the Office of the Ombudsman in Kapan.

The Working Group had also meetings with the representatives of the  civil society.  On February 27, a final meeting was held at the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During  the meeting the Working Group  presented information on the work done by the group in the framework  of the visit, as well as preliminary assessment and recommendations.

During the final meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Vahe  Gevorgyan mentioned that mercenarism and threats coming from it have  regional character, and the widespread use of mercenaries by  Azerbaijan during the war unleashed against the people of  Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020, attests to it. It was noted that the  involvement of international actors, including the relevant UN  bodies, is necessary to resist the regional threats.

An agreement was reached to continue and deepen cooperation within  the framework of the mandate of the United Nations Working Group on  the use of mercenaries.

During the hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh in the fall of 2020, a  number of authoritative media, including the Washington Post, and The  Wall Street Journal wrote about hundreds of Syrian mercenaries  associated with Turkey deployed in Artsakh, and about their readiness  to be sent to the Karabakh conflict zone..  Syrian leader Bashar  al-Assad then stated that mercenaries from Syria were being  transferred to Nagorno- Karabakh, and Turkey was using terrorists  from Syria and other countries in Nagorno-Karabakh. In turn, director  of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation, Sergei  Naryshkin, also reported that, according to information available to  the Service, mercenaries from international terrorist organizations  fighting in the Middle East t were actively involved in the conflict  zone, and it is about hundreds and even thousands of radicals. French  President Emmanuel Macron also spoke about the transfer of 300 Syrian  mercenaries through Turkish territory to Baku in early October 2020.