Information on entry of Syrian militants into Azerbaijan is false: Defense Ministry

The Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has commented on a biased article published on September 1 in the Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta.

Report was told in the Ministry, in an article entitled "Syrian militants in Azerbaijan are preparing for a blitzkrieg in Armenia" Nezavisimaya Gazeta has presented completely false information to readers.

"The author of the article, Vladimir Mukhin, without reliable sources and substantiated facts is misleading readers. We categorically refute the fictions that are far from the truth about the alleged presence in Nakhchivan of a Turkish military base reinforced by combat aircraft, the import of 500 Syrian militants of Turkmen origin into Azerbaijan. The unfounded statements in the article are outright disinformation and under no circumstances reflect reality. The Ministry of Defense officially declares that, there is neither a military base of any foreign country, nor any other illegal armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan: "The professionalism and combat experience of Azerbaijani Army, military equipment and armaments are sufficient to quickly fulfill any combat mission given to liberate our lands occupied by Armenia and restore the territorial integrity of our country. The Azerbaijani Army demonstrated it in the April battles of 2016 and during the Gunnut operation in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in 2018 as well as recent battles in the Tovuz direction."

We recommend "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" to pay attention to the amendments to the law "On Defense" submitted for discussion in Armenia. Because this law, forcing Armenia, which faces problems with mobilization resources, to create a system for the formation of armed groups on the basis of volunteerism, allows the elderly to be armed up to 70 years old. With the entry into force of the law, Armenia will be able to legalize the issue of equipping its army with mercenary militants and terrorists brought from hot spots in the Middle East, especially from Syria and Lebanon. Official Yerevan, interested in spreading such misinformation, is trying to create favorable conditions for exacerbating tension in the region, escalating the conflict and attracting as many parties as possible to it."