Expert: Azeri claims of Russian mercenary mustn’t be taken seriously

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian political analyst advised against taking Azeri media claims of a Russian mercenary in Karabakh army seriously.

As Alexander Perendzhiev stressed, Russian military leadership will never allow for an officer to be involved in hostilities on the side of another state. “Russian legislation envisages persecution for mercenaries, as a part of counter-terrorism system. Moscow will always be curbing the involvement of mercenary soldiers, especially where Karabakh conflict is concerned,” he said.

The expert further slammed the family name cited by Azeri media as fictitious and politically motivated.

Earlier, Azeri media issued a report claiming that an Azerbaijani sniper injured a Russian soldier named Bolotnikov at the line of contact with Karabakh armed forces. The same source said that “the Russian officer has long been training Armenian snipers in Karabakh and shot several Azeri servicemen himself.”