Azerbaijan ramping up arms purchases, Armenian diplomat warns

Azerbaijan is buying drones and military equipment from abroad amid heightened tensions with Armenia, a senior diplomat has claimed.

Speaking to Brussels Signal, Tigran Balayan, Armenia’s ambassador to the European Union, said that his country has tracked suspected munitions purchases which have reportedly come in on military flights from countries including Israel and Turkey. These deliveries are suspected to include drones.

“60 per cent or 70 per cent of Azerbaijani military hardware comes from Israel, then Turkey,” he said during an interview with Justin Stares, Head of News at Brussels Signal.

He also noted that there had been increased military flights from Serbia, which, he said, had “just announced the agreement about selling some sophisticated artillery equipment to Azerbaijan.”

Balayan’s claims come after a fatal border skirmishes between Azerbaijan and Armenia which left four Armenian soldiers dead and one Azerbaijani border guard injured.

The ambassador blamed Azerbaijan for the attack, speculating that it was in response to increased Armenian cooperation with the European Union.

“That [attack] was a message, not only to Armenia, but also to Brussels,” Balayan said, noting that the incident took place several hours before an EU-Armenia Partnership Council meeting.

The attack represented an explicit “challenge” to EU “authority” in the region.

According to the Armenian ambassador, Azerbaijan has no intention to end the conflict with Armenia.

“Despite all the warning calls, Azerbaijan didn’t stop its aggressive rhetoric, aggressive actions, killing, and provocation,” he said.