Armenia accuses Turkey of downing its warplane, the latter denies allegations

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey of shooting down one of its warplanes and killing its pilot. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey have denied it. Armenia and Azerbaijan are currently in a dispute over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and the shooting down of the plane would mean a major escalation of a conflict that has been going on for decades.

Armenian warplane shot down over Armenian airspace

As per reports, Armenia has stated that one of its SU-25 aircraft was shot down over Armenian airspace by a Turkish F-15 that had taken off from Azerbaijan. Fahrettin Altun, communications director for Turkey’s president has responded to Armenia’s claims and has stated that the allegations were ‘completely untrue’.

Earlier, Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry had claimed that Armenia had shelled the Dashkesan region in Azerbaijan while Armenia has claimed that Azerbaijani forces opened fire on a military unit in the Armenian town of Vardenis, setting a bus on fire and killing one civilian. Armenia’s foreign ministry has denied the that the shelling took place and has stated that Azerbaijan is laying the groundwork for “expanding the geography of hostilities, including the aggression against the Republic of Armenia.”

Read: Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict: Russia Urges Turkey To Work On Ceasefire

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As per reports, fresh fighting between the two countries broke out on Sunday, September 27 and since then 84 Armenian servicemen have been killed and Azerbaijan has also reported at least 10 civilian deaths but has not revealed any military casualties. The Nagorno-Karabakh region lies within Azerbaijan but the region has been controlled by Armenian forces backed by the Armenian government since 1994.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for an immediate ceasefire and wishes for both countries to return to the negotiating table. Merkel’s spokesperson, Steffen Seibert has added that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe provides for a forum where both the countries can hold talks and contribute to a peaceful solution to the fighting. Even the US has commented on the increased fighting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urging both the countries to stop the violence and to “return to substantive negotiations as quickly as possible”.

(With AP inputs, Image: AP)

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