YEREVAN, OCTOBER 15, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian military has presented evidence of the involvement of Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jets in the Azerbaijani attacks on Artsakh and Armenia.

Deputy Commander/Chief of Staff of the Air Defense Troops of Armenia Garik Movsesyan said at a press conference on October 15 that the Turkish F-16s were flown to Azerbaijan back in July for the joint Turkish-Azerbaijani military exercises.

“Both during the preparations and active phases of the military exercises the F-16s were carrying out active operations, training flights along the entire length of the Armenia and Artsakh state borders, mostly at the Ganja-Vardenis, Ganja-Karvajar, Ganja-Martakert, Stepanakert and Hadrut directions. After the end of the military exercises these aircraft did not return to Turkey and remained stationed at the Ganja airbase [in Azerbaijan],” he said.

Then, on September 23, the Turkish Air Force command executed a change of shift of crew and technical personnel of the F-16s in the Ganja airfield. Movsesyan said this re-flight from Turkey to Azerbaijan was carried out through Georgian airspace.

“At 16:00, September 23 the aircrafts of the changed shift carried out the flight from Ganja through Georgian territory, to reposition in their permanent deployment airbase. From the very first day of the offensive operations that Azerbaijan unleashed on September 27, the Turkish Air Force F-16s have been actively engaged in aerial missions, that is – the bombing and air strikes of territories and facilities in the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Artsakh,” Movsesyan said.

“On September 27, two Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jets breached the airspace of the Republic of Armenia up to 6km in depth in order to carry out the air strikes at the Mets Masrik and Sotk settlements in the Ganja-Sotk-Vardenis air route,” he said, citing radar data.

He reminded the downing of the Armenian SU-25 aircraft, when on September 29, around 12:16, two F-16s flying near the Mingachevir reservoir [Azerbaijan], detected an Armenian Air Force SU-25 which was on-duty flying deep inside the territory of Armenia towards the border, headed towards the state border and shot down the Armenian SU-25 from approximately 60km distance from the border. It was after this attack that the Armenian authorities officially announced that Turkey is directly participating and involving its air force in the attacks.

“With the purpose of concealing their further actions, on October 3 Azerbaijan re-stationed the F-16s from the Ganja airbase to the Gabala airbase,” Movsesyan said, adding that after this the Turkish Air Force started operating jointly with the Azeri air force, whereas before that it was acting separately.

Movsesyan says their analysis of the actions of the Turkish F-16s during the 18 days of attacks concludes that these Turkish warplanes’ mission is the following: the coordination of the Azerbaijani air force operations, air support and cover to the Azeri military in their missile and bomb strikes at the territories of Armenia and Artsakh.

Editing and Translating by Stepan Kocharyan