Russia doesn’t rule out "Turkish factor" in Karabakh escalation

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia's Prime Minister didn’t rule out "the Turkish factor" in the recent escalation in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone, Russian media reports.

"There are a host of forces that are closely watching the consequences of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and their possible influence on the situation in the Middle East and vice versa,” Dmitry Medvedev said. “So I do not rule out the existence of some factors that could be influencing the conflict from the outside. I believe the Turkish factor probably exists, at least because Turkey expressed its position."

According to the Russian Prime Minister, Ankara’s statements cannot but cause concern.

“Rather than urge the parties to calm down, go back to the negotiating table, start again and stop shooting, Turkey made certain assessments. For what? To add fuel to the fire?” Medvedev questioned.

At the same time, Medvedev expressed belief that it is better to keep the conflict frozen, than to try to quickly resolve it at the cost of human lives.

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 46 Karabakh servicemen were killed and 122 were wounded in the course of military operations.

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, 1 engineering vehicle, 2 military helicopters and 11 unmanned aerial vehicles. The Azerbaijani side has admitted the loss of 31 fighters, 1 helicopter and 1 unmanned drones, whereas the Armenian side's photo and video materials show dozens of killed Azerbaijani troops, 1 helicopter and 3 UAVs. Opposition media outlets, however, reported on the death of 81 Azerbaijani soldiers, stating that 6 more have gone missing. According to Karabakh authorities, 300 Azerbaijani soldiers were killed in clashes.

14 Karabakh tanks have been neutralized since April 2.

Read also:Russia to continue its arms sales to Armenia, Azerbaijan: Medvedev