Russia's selling ammo to Baku deplorable: President

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wednesday, April 6 in Berlin.

The meeting was followed by a joint press conference focusing on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and the Syrian crisis among other issues.

“It’s deplorable that not only Russia but also other CSTO member states sell weapons to Azerbaijan; unfortunately, we have limited abilities to influence such decisions,” Sargsyan said.

“Azeri-owned weapons proved to be more advanced and operable, but one's strength is not entirely about the modernity of weapons. Our strength lies in the Armenian and Karabakh people’s determination to protect their motherland at any cost.”

“The last three days revealed what the Armenian and Azeri sides were like in a battle, the actual losses suffered on both sides, the Armenian side's transparecy in informing the public about the casualties and the frontline developements,” he said.

Dwelling on the flow of refugees to Europe, the President refused to give an assessment to EU’s steps.

“I am not authorized to comment on the issue. The refugee crisis is a major problem for us too, there being large Armenian communities in Syria and the Middle East. In the last several years, Armenia has hosted more than 20,000 Syrian Armenians,” Sargsyan noted.

The parties to the Karabakh conflict agreed on a bilateral ceasefire along the contact line which came into force at midday, April 5.

Prior to that, on the night of April 1-2, Azerbaijani armed forces initiated overt offensive operations in the southern, southeastern and northeastern directions of the line of contact with Nagorno Karabakh.

As many as 29 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 101 were wounded in the course of military operations. 28 Karabakh soldiers have gone missing so far.

As of April 5, the Azerbaijani side has lost 26 tanks and 4 infantry fighting vehicles, as well as 1 BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher, 2 military helicopters and 11 unmanned aerial vehicles.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.