French President Emmanuel Macron said on Thursday he had specific information about Syrian jihadist militants arriving in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone via Turkey.
“This is a very serious development,” Macron warned, noting that he had agreed with Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump to “exchange the information they have on the situation and draw all the necessary conclusions.”
Macron reiterated that the current escalation of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was initiated by Azerbaijan.
“I want to be absolutely clear. There was no excuse for Sunday’s attacks from Azerbaijan, as far as we know, and I asked about it. [Azerbaidžānas] to the President [Ilhamam] Aliyev, “Macron pointed out.
On his way to the European Union (EU) summit, Macron also told reporters that a plane had been assigned to evacuate French journalists injured in Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as their health had stabilized.
Two journalists from the French newspaper Le Monde were injured on Thursday in the shooting of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the municipal building of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia said this week that Turkey had transferred 4,000 militants from northern Syria to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone.
Russia’s foreign ministry also said on Wednesday that militants from Syria and Libya were involved in hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh and expressed “deep concern” over the development of such events.
Heavy fighting has reportedly begun on the actual border of Nagorno-Karabakh on Sunday morning. Both sides accuse each other of starting war.
Both Armenia and the internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh have declared a state of war and general mobilization. Azerbaijan has also declared a state of war and a partial mobilization.
The presidents of Russia, the United States and France on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh and for Armenia and Azerbaijan to start talks.
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