Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijan has a strong and professional army and does not need any outside forces to prevent Armenia’s military provocations and to restore its territorial integrity, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said in a briefing on 25 July.

Abdullayeva was commenting on some news reports claiming that Ukrainian mercenaries were allegedly recruited to fight on the side of Azerbaijan in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

The spokesperson described these reports as baseless and as disinformation.

Abdullayeva emphasized that Armenia was behind this disinformation.

“As it is known, Armenia has attracted mercenaries from the Middle East as part of its aggressive policy against Azerbaijan” she said, adding that Armenian was using disinformation to divert attention from its illegal actions.

It should be noted that Armenians opened fire and injured two Azerbaijani students in Kyiv on July 24 July.

Armenian nationalists have recently stepped up attacks on Azerbaijanis overseas with dozens of Azerbaijanis being attacked in Armenian hate crimes in the U.S, Europe, Russia and Ukraine.

The officials in Los Angeles are investigating the hate crime committed against three Azerbaijanis during a protest rally outside of the Azerbaijani Consulate in Los Angeles on July 21 where hundreds of Armenians attacked a small group of Azerbaijanis.

Seventeen more Armenians were arrested in Belgium for attacking Azerbaijanis with stones and sharp objects outside of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Brussels. The attack left six Azerbaijanis injured. Armenian hate groups also targeted Azerbaijanis separately, attacking them in large groups in different parts of Belgium. A graphic video of an Azerbaijan man being beaten and insulted by around ten Armenian men in Brussels went viral.

Armenians stepped up hate crimes against Azerbaijanis following the cross-border clashes initiated with Armenian forces firing artillery at Azerbaijani positions in Tovuz on July 12. Azerbaijan retaliated by destroying Armenian military positions, equipment and manpower. Twelve Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, and a civilian were killed during Armenian attacks.

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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97

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