Armenia claimed on Tuesday (September 29th) that Turkey had shot down one of its military planes, which the latter denied, with Yerevan accusing Ankara of meddling in the ongoing fighting between Azerbaijan and pro-Armenian separatists from Nagorno Karabakh .
Read also: Why Armenia and Azerbaijan clash in Nagorno-Karabakh
"
An Armenian SU-25 plane was shot down by a Turkish F-16 (...) coming from Azerbaijani territory
," Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Chuchan Stepanian said in a Facebook post, specifying that the Armenian pilot of the device "
had died like a hero
".
Since Sunday, the forces of the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, politically, militarily and economically supported by Armenia, and those of Azerbaijan have clashed in the deadliest fighting since 2016, the death toll being nearly a hundred dead.
"
Absolutely false
"
claim
"
The allegation according to which Turkey shot down an Armenian hunter is absolutely false
", denied Turkey by the voice of the director of communication of the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun.
"
This information is one more lie than Armenian propaganda
," Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman Vagif Dyargahly told reporters.
Read also: Karabakh: Turkey determined to help Azerbaijan to recover "its occupied lands"
The Turkish plane "
took off from an airport in the Azerbaijani city of Ganja and supported Azerbaijani aviation and drones which bombarded civilian villages in Vardenis, Mers Masrik and Sotk in Armenia,
" the Armenian spokesperson said.
"
The Armenian Defense Ministry earlier accused Turkey of direct aggression
" against Armenia, he added.
On Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Armenia to end the “
occupation of Nagorno Karabakh
” and promised that Ankara would remain “
alongside
” Baku “
by all means
”.
An open war between Yerevan and Baku would risk destabilizing the South Caucasus and dragging the regional powers, Turkey and Russia, into it.
The latter on Tuesday called on Turkey, which supports Baku, to work for peace in Nagorno Karabakh and warned against "
all kinds of statements on support or military activity
" which "
probably only add fuel. on fire
”.