Putin: Karabakh escalation raised terrorist threat level in the region

PanARMENIAN.Net - The escalation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has increased the risks of the spread of terrorism in the region, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a CIS summit on Friday, December 18, RIA Novosti reports.

"The clashes have unfortunately led to numerous human casualties, exacerbated the already difficult situation in Transcaucasia as a whole, and increased the risks of the spread of the terrorist threat," Putin said.

In the war against Artsakh (Karabakh), Turkey supported Azerbaijan militarily, also by transferring terrorist mercenaries from the Middle East to fight against Karabakh. Armenia was the first to report on Turkey's deployment of thousands of Syrian fighters to Azerbaijan. International media publications followed suit, as did reactions from France, Russia, Iran and Syria. The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army has already unveiled footage from the interrogation of two such terrorists captured on the front.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Russian and Azerbaijani Presidents Vladimir Putin and Ilham Aliyev on November 9 signed a statement to end the war in Karabakh after almost 45 days. Under the deal, the Armenian side has returned all the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, having lost a part of Karabakh itself in hostilities.