Sergey Naryshkin, Director of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) of Russia, is concerned about the possibility of Transcaucasia becoming a springboard for members of terrorist organizations in the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. This was stated in a statement by the head of the SVR.
"The escalating armed confrontation in Karabakh as a magnet attracts militants from various international terrorist structures," Naryshkin said.
"We cannot but worry that Transcaucasia can become a new springboard for international terrorist organizations, from where the militants can later infiltrate into the states bordering Azerbaijan and Armenia, including Russia," he stressed.
"According to the information available in the SVR, mercenaries from international terrorist organizations fighting in the Middle East, in particular [such as] "Jabhat al-Nusra" (banned in Russia), "Firkat al-Hamza", "Sultan Murad", as well as extremist Kurdish groups, are being actively drawn into the conflict zone," the SVR head stated. He stressed they are talking about hundreds and even thousands of radicals who expect to earn money from the new Karabakh war.
Negotiations
Naryshkin believes the parties to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh will return to negotiations.
"We have no doubt that with the assistance of the international community, the parties to the conflict will eventually stop using force and sit down at the negotiating table," he said.
The head of SVR stressed that for Russia as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group a new war in the region is unacceptable. "We are also far from indifferent to the fact that representatives of the friendly Armenian and Azerbaijani peoples are dying in the course of combat operations," Naryshkin said.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Federation Council
Based on materials from TASS