Azerbaijan Calls on India to Stop Supplying Arms to Armenia

BAKU—Azerbaijan called on India to stop supplying arms to Armenia, arguing that this would allegedly lead to the militarization of Armenia, which, in turn, would harm the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process.

The corresponding call was voiced by Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of the Department of Foreign Policy Affairs of the Presidential Administration, Hikmat Hajiyev, during a meeting with Indian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Sridharan Madhusudhanan.

“At a time when Azerbaijan is negotiating a peace treaty with Armenia, the supply of deadly weapons by India to this country opens the way to the militarization of Armenia and aggravates the situation, hindering the establishment of sustainable peace and security in the South Caucasus region. This is not in line with India’s foreign policy, which is based on the norms and principles of international law, declared by itself, as well as the historical ‘Bandung principles’ of the Non-Aligned Movement, to which India has joined,” Hajiyev emphasized.

Hajiyev urged the Indian Ambassador to bring to the attention of official Delhi the serious concern of the Azerbaijani side and reconsider India’s decision to supply lethal weapons to Armenia.

At the same time, Hajiyev apparently forgot about the multibillion-dollar arms contracts concluded in recent years by Azerbaijan with Israel and Turkey. This apparently “fits into the peace process” as it allows Azerbaijan to exert unilateral pressure on Armenia.

Earlier, Indian media reported on the purchase of weapons by Armenia from India. It was reported that Armenia signed a contract worth more than $250 million for the purchase of weapons from India, including Indian 214 mm Pinaka multiple launch rocket systems and rockets for them, unnamed anti-tank missile systems, and various ammunition.