Azerbaijan urges India not to arm Armenia

Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, Hikmet Hajiyev met with the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of India to the country Sridharan Madhusudhanan on July 26, Report informs.

At the meeting, Hikmet Hajiyev said that deepening military cooperation between Armenia and India and the dissemination of photos and video footage in the media about the transfer of Indian-made weapon systems to Armenia through Iran recently caused concern on the part of Azerbaijan.

The official of the Presidential Administration emphasized that India's supply of lethal weapons to Armenia at a time when Azerbaijan is negotiating a peace treaty with this country opens the way for the militarization of Armenia and the escalation of the situation, and creates obstacles to the establishment of sustainable peace and security in the South Caucasus region.

It is also incompatible with India's self-proclaimed foreign policy based on the norms and principles of international law, as well as the historic Bandung Principles of the Non-Aligned Movement, which this country is also represented at.

Hajiyev called on the Indian ambassador to convey the serious concerns of the Azerbaijani side to the attention of official Delhi and to reconsider India's decision regarding the supply of lethal weapons to Armenia.

The Indian ambassador said that the point raised by the Azerbaijani side will be conveyed accordingly and noted the importance of holding a dialogue between the two countries to discuss issues of concern in bilateral relations.

Hikmet Hajiyev asserted that Azerbaijan is always open to dialogue with India.