Armenia recalls its ambassador to Israel over Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan
According to SIPRI, Israel sold US$ 375 million worth of military hardware to Azerbaijan between 2017 and 2019. After five days of fighting, only partial losses are available. France, Russia, and the United States call for an end to the fighting. Turkey, an ally of Azerbaijan, demands the withdrawal of Armenian troops from Nagorno Karabakh as a precondition.
Yerevan (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Armenian government yesterday recalled its ambassador in Tel Aviv, accusing Israel of selling weapons to Azerbaijan, its rival for control of the Nagorno Karabakh region.
Armenian separatist forces and the Azerbaijani army have been battling over the past five days, with hundreds of dead.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel was Azerbaijan’s main foreign supplier of weapons, selling military hardware worth US$ 375 million, between 2017 and 2019, including attack drones by companies like Elbit systems.
Since the start of the hostilities, Armenia and Azerbaijan have issued only partial reports on casualties and losses, which are impossible to verify.
Yerevan announced the deaths of 104 soldiers and eight civilians; Baku has announced the death of 18 civilians but has remained silent on its military losses.
According to an Armenian spokesman, at least 350 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed yesterday, and several planes and helicopters were shot down.
Armenia claims that at least 800 Azerbaijani troops have been killed so far; Azerbaijan says that 1,900 Armenian soldiers have died.
In recent days, France and Russia have confirmed the presence of jihadis fighters who, with the help of Turkey, arrived Nagorno Karabakh to fight alongside the Azerbaijanis.
France, Russia and the United States, members of the Minsk Group, which have mediated past ceasefires in the region, have called for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
The trio urged the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan to "commit without delay to resuming substantive negotiations”.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the main ally of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, told the Turkish parliament in Ankara that there will be a ceasefire only with a withdrawal of the Armenian forces from Nagorno Karabakh.
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