Sergey Lavrov
The number of mercenaries from the Middle East in the Karabakh conflict zone is approaching two thousand. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shared such assessments in an interview with Kommersant.
The foreign minister stressed that Russia is concerned about the internationalization of the conflict and the involvement of militants from the Middle East. “We have repeatedly called on external players to use their capabilities to suppress the transfer of mercenaries, whose number in the conflict zone, according to available data, is already approaching two thousand,” he said.
The minister noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin raised this topic in a conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 27, as well as in regular contacts with the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Lavrov added that the Russian side stubbornly continues to promote its position through various channels.
Earlier, the Russian Foreign Minister commented on the relationship between Russia and Turkey in regional conflicts. When asked by the interviewer whether Moscow is too dependent on Ankara in matters of conflicts from Syria and Libya to Nagorno-Karabakh, Lavrov noted that the countries are close partners that are capable of showing a flexible, pragmatic approach.
On October 26, a ceasefire came into force in Nagorno-Karabakh. The corresponding agreements were reached by Azerbaijan and Armenia with the mediation of the United States. The third truce began at 08:00 local time (07:00 Moscow time), but after a while the parties accused each other of violating the silence and continued to fight.
