Turkey denies the transfer of mercenaries to engage in the conflict.
France on Thursday accused Turkey of sending Syrian mercenaries to fight in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and said it is working with Russia to reach a ceasefire agreement between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenian forces.
Reuters recalls that Turkey has denied the transfer of mercenaries to participate in the conflict.
France, Russia, and the United States are co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), created in 1992 to mediate in the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The group has yet to meet or make a joint statement as new clashes erupted on Sunday in a mountainous enclave in Azerbaijan but ruled by ethnic Armenians.
“Presidents Macron and Putin agreed on the need for joint efforts to achieve an armistice within Minsk,” the Elysee Palace said after a conversation between the French and Russian presidents. “They also shared their concerns about Turkey’s sending Syrian mercenaries to Nagorno-Karabakh.”
Macron’s office did not provide any evidence to support the charge, and the Kremlin’s statement did not mention it at all.
Macron said on Wednesday that Ankara is behaving “in a military manner.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that Syrian and Libyan militants from illegal armed groups are sent to the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Russia has a military base in Armenia. The Kremlin views her as a strategic partner. About 600 thousand people of Armenian origin live in France.
The Armenian ambassador to Moscow on Monday said that Turkey sent about 4,000 militants from northern Syria to Azerbaijan and that they are fighting there, which was denied by the aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and the Turkish government.
Baku launched an offensive attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, seeking to restore sovereignty over the region. The coming days will show whether Azerbaijan will be able to achieve its goal. In the meantime, the Azerbaijani army took control of six settlements in the region and several strategic heights in the conflict zone.
