President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said that no mercenaries were fighting on the Azerbaijani side in the conflict zone around Nagorno-Karabakh, and no one provided evidence to the contrary.
"We do not have mercenaries. This is our official statement. More than two weeks have passed since the start of the clash, and no country has provided us with any evidence in this regard <...> I believe that if there is no evidence, these rumors should remain in the past," Aliyev said in an interview with the French TV channel France 24, the text of which was published on Thursday on the website of the head of state.
He also stressed that Azerbaijan has no need to use mercenaries. "We have an army consisting of more than 100 thousand fighters. Everything we do today on the battlefield testifies to the fact that our army is able to liberate its own lands", he noted.
Aliyev once again denied allegations of Turkish military participation in combat operations in the conflict zone.
"There is no military participation of Turkey. We use military equipment produced in Turkey - that's true. But we also use military equipment produced by Russia, Israel and other countries <...> Turkey is not involved in the process in any way, except on the political plane. There are no Turkish troops here," Azerbaijani President noted.
Assurances of Paris
The President of Azerbaijan stated that he had received assurances from France about its neutral position as a mediator in Karabakh conflict resolution.
"President [of France Emmanuelle] Macron called me several times and our last conversation was very positive. We are committed to efforts aimed at finding a political solution to the conflict. I was told that France, as a co-chairman, will remain neutral as it is the mandate of the co-chairman," he said.
Besides, according to Aliyev, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs also made a statement that Paris should remain neutral as it is the co-chair of the Minsk Group.
"We fully support this position and our position has always been that all co-chairs should remain neutral, that they should not take sides because other behavior contradicts their mandate," the President of Azerbaijan stressed.
Aliyev noted that Baku has a normal attitude towards the fact that countries have allies and friends. "But if some countries have a mandate of mediators, I am sure that both sides - Armenia and Azerbaijan - are waiting for neutrality, and now we see this neutrality," he added.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS