Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has threatened with Turkish fighters in case of an escalation of the military conflict in Karabakh.
Azerbaijan will respond to foreign aggression by attacking Turkish military aircraft F-16, Aliyev said. He criticized the OSCE Minsk Group for military assistance to Armenia.
Baku will go to the end on the Karabakh issue, Aliyev said in his address to the nation. Azerbaijan is not satisfied that Armenia has not provided a schedule for the withdrawal of troops from Nagorno-Karabakh, he stressed. At the same time, the armed forces of Azerbaijan, according to Aliyev, were ordered not to succumb to provocations and not to respond to violation of the ceasefire.
Earlier, Baku announced the direct intervention of Armenia in the Karabakh conflict. According to the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry, the territories occupied by the Azerbaijani military came under fire from the neighboring regions of Armenia. Armenia is trying to defend the strategically important Lachin corridor and at the same time provoking return fire in order to involve Russia in the conflict, military experts say.
According to Aliyev, the OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States, acts in the interests of Armenia. “What is the activity of this Minsk Group? Can she put pressure on the occupier? Does she want to put pressure? No. I have raised this issue more than once: if you want to resolve the issue, then it is necessary to impose sanctions on Armenia. It is in your hands, you are permanent members of the UN Security Council, you can solve the necessary issue, ”Aliyev said during his address to the nation.
According to him, the members of the Minsk Group have different points of view regarding many conflicts in the world, but their position on the Karabakh conflict is the same. “I wonder how it happens,” Aliyev asked rhetorically.
He stressed that the “frozen Karabakh conflict” suits the Minsk Group and Armenia, but does not suit Baku.
Aliyev also listed the weapons supplied to Armenia free of charge by members of the Minsk Group, incl. air defense systems, aviation and heavy weapons. Many of these weapons, transferred to Armenia for the war, have already been destroyed by the Azerbaijani army, Aliyev stressed.
“Why doesn’t anyone ask Armenia who gave you so many weapons?” the President of Azerbaijan asks.
“I ask again, and I ask and will ask this question every time, until I get an answer: where is this money from? Let observers, mediators, political scientists, pro-Armenian-minded elements say, where did they come from?
The people of Azerbaijan, the world, everyone knows how much money we have. We buy with our own money, we do not depend on anyone.
Where did this debt-ridden, bankrupt country get them? Armenia’s external public debt is about $ 8 billion, and foreign exchange reserves are $ 1.5 billion. Moreover, these are not free funds, these are bank reserves. They cannot be used. If they use them, then their “currency” will collapse. Why doesn’t anyone ask who gave you so many weapons? “
