The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated it is ‘concerned’ of reports that the Islamic nation of Turkey, a NATO ally, is moving Islamic militia from Syria and Libya to fight Christian Armenian forces in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the South Caucasus.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a ‘frozen conflict’ traced to the fall of the Soviet Union.
Russia has a military base in Armenia and is of course an Orthodox Christian state.
“Reports are coming in that members of illegal armed groups are being moved to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, particularly from Syria and Libya, to take part in military activities. We are deeply concerned about these developments that can not only raise tensions further in the conflict zone but also create long-term security threats for all countries in the region,” the statement reads.
“We call on the interested countries to take effective measures to prevent attempts to engage foreign terrorists and mercenaries in the conflict and immediately remove them from the region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry added.
