Azernews.Az

By Akbar Mammadov

Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that Baku is waiting for a more sincere explanation from Moscow about Russia’s military cargo delivery to Armenia amid the Azerbaijani-Armenian border clashes.

“We are not completely satisfied with the explanations made by Russia in this regard. Our questions remain open. We are waiting for a more sincere and clear explanation of this issue such as, on what grounds and for what purposes the intensive arming of Armenia is continued,” Hajiyev said in a presser on August 29.

He said that both the government and the public are concerned over Russia’s arming of Armenia.

Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan is also not satisfied with the answer that allegedly the Russian planes transported construction materials for the Russian military base in Armenia.

“There is no need for intensive air flights for transportation of construction materials and they can be also transported in other ways,” he stressed.

The official said that after the start of the cross-border clashes in Azerbaijan’t Toviz district on July 12, weapons have been intensively transported from Russia to Armenia by IL-76 aeroplanes since July 17.

“Transportation of weapons is directly carried out in the direction of Mazdok, Minvod, Aktau, Turkmenbashi, Novshahr, Rasht, Mehri and Yerevan, which we would like to emphasize once again that is a matter of serious concern to the Azerbaijani public,” Hajiyev noted.

Hajiyev stressed that Armenia's aggression in the Tovuz events and its continued occupation of Azerbaijani territories clearly show the nature of this state.

The presidential aide also touched upon the intensive transportation of weapons and ammunition from Armenia to Middle East countries.

“Our recent observations also give grounds to say that weapons and ammunition are being intensively transported from Armenia to the Middle Eastern countries,” Hajiyev said, adding that especially, flights are being carried out from Armenia to Syria.

Hajiyev’s comments come after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said in Baku on 26 August that the recent transport of military cargo from Russia to Armenia did not contain military equipment but the construction materials used in large-scale construction work carried out at the 102nd Russian military base in Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also raised Russia’s military cargo delivery to Armenia during his phone conversation with Vladimir Putin on August 13. During the phone call, Aliyev informed the Russian president that the intensification of the transportation of military cargo from Russia to Armenia since July 17 after the clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, raises concerns and serious questions in the Azerbaijani society.

The Azerbaijani media recently revealed that over 400 tonnes of military cargo have been transported from Russia to Armenia through the air spaces of Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran. According to the reports, the military cargo was transported to Armenia during and after the military provocation committed by Armenia in the direction of Tovuz district of the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border last month.

The reports revealed that nine flights were made from Russia to Armenia since last month. Two of these flights were made in the midst of the clashes on July 17. One flight per day was made on 18, 20, 27, 29 July and 4 August, while two flights were made on August 6.

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

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