New provocations are inevitable in Artsakh, given the presence of Syrian militants in the region, Russian military reporter Semen Pegov said on Wednesday at a press conference in Yerevan. In his words, the Syrians transferred to Karabakh have been fighting against Russian army over the past five years.
“If they blow up Russian convoys during the joint patrol with Turks, it is quite unlikely those militants may act differently in Artsakh,” Pegov said, pointing to the need to reveal Turkey’s real plans about its extremist contingent deployed in the Caucasus.
“We have see Russian space forces over the past week actively targeting the positions of the terrorists in Syria’s Idlib. Turkey’s President Erdogan realizes that Russian President along with Assad (President of Syria) will never cede that region to them. Turks will leave Syria sooner or later, and may need those extremist groups in Turkey the least. That is to say Turkey may use that contingent in the Caucasus,” Pegov explained.
Apart from that, per him, Azeri civilian population knows well that the war may resume, and they are not obsessed with idea to move to the newly occupied territories. “Erdogan is the one to benefit from this, and he will use this chance,” added the Russian reporter.