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Dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries have been reported since Sunday in fighting, renewing concerns about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines that transport oil and gas to global markets pass.
The presidents of France, Russia and the United States called for an immediate ceasefire between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces in the region, but Turkey, which is an ally of Azerbaijan, said the three major powers should not have a role in the efforts. of peace.
“The situation is much more dangerous (than the previous clashes in 2016),” Pashinyan told Le Vivaro newspaper in an interview published Thursday night. It would be more appropriate to compare it with what happened in 1915 when more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the first genocide of the 20th century. “.
He added: “The Turkish state, which continues to deny the past, is once again taking risks on the path of genocide.”
Turkey acknowledges that many Armenians who lived under the Ottoman Empire died in clashes with Ottoman forces during World War I, but it disputes the numbers and denies that the killings were systematically orchestrated and amounted to genocide.
Pashinyan said that Turkey had sent thousands of Syrian mercenaries to the region and that Turkish army officers were directly involved in directing the attack in Azerbaijan, but did not provide any evidence for their claims.
Pashinyan accused Turkey of supporting the Azerbaijani army with fighter jets, drones and other military equipment and of sending military advisers and “mercenaries and terrorists” to the Nagorno Karabakh region.
“We have evidence,” Pashinyan said, “they are using Turkish drones and F-16 (fighter jets) to bombard civilian areas in Upper Karabakh.”
He added: “The international community, especially the American people, must know that US-made F-16s are currently being used to kill Armenians in this conflict.” He continued: “There is evidence that the Turkish military leaders were directly involved in the conduct of the attack.”
Pashinyan said: “Ankara provided Baku with military vehicles and weapons and (sent) military advisers. We know that Turkey trained and transported thousands of mercenaries and terrorists from the Turkish-occupied areas in northern Syria. These mercenaries and terrorists are fighting today. against the Armenians. “
