Azerbaijan’s top diplomat in Washington rejects reports saying Turkey has sent Syrian militants to aid his country’s fight against Armenia, calling them Russian propaganda meant to dupe Western news outlets, Eurasia Diary reports citing Washinton Times.
Fighting between the two former Soviet states over the Armenian-controlled enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh shows no signs of easing, raising fears that Turkey and other powers may be drawn into a broader regional war.
“I went to school in Moscow. I know propaganda very well, and this is basic Soviet propaganda,” Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the U.S., told The Washington Times in an interview.
“What you have here is a very strong virtual effort to produce a narrative designed to provide Armenia with an excuse to invite Russian forces into the conflict to carry out an anti-terrorism operation against Azerbaijan,” Mr. Suleymanov said.
Armenia’s ambassador to Russia said a month ago that Turkey had sent some 4,000 fighters from Turkish-controlled northern Syria to Azerbaijan. Western press reports have since said Syrian mercenaries are aiding Azerbaijan, a Muslim majority nation, against largely Christian Armenia.
