Baku is Trying to Convey Something to Russia Regarding Certain Processes: Karen Hovhannisyan

Azerbaijan is, on the one hand, contradicting official Moscow by asserting that Iskander was used in Shushi, while on the other hand, it is contradicting the Prime Minister of Armenia by claiming that the rockets exploded. This was stated by military expert Karen Hovhannisyan on Facebook.

“Official Baku claims that Iskander was used in Shushi. Let’s try to understand what is being said in the official statement. First of all, let’s start with the fact that the agency conducting demining operations in Shushi is Azerbaijani, which announced the use of Iskander. According to the Azerbaijani Mine Action Agency (ANAMA), missile fragments were discovered on March 15. This means that the 15-day examination said nothing other than identification numbers, which are open for public access on the internet. In the first 15 days, they cannot conduct expert work and identify missile fragments. They still do not have verification conclusions from international similar agencies, which is usually carried out.

It is also interesting to note that they emphasize the term EXPLODED. Azerbaijan is, on the one hand, contradicting official Moscow by claiming that Iskander was used in Shushi, while on the other hand, it is contradicting the Prime Minister of Armenia by asserting that the rockets exploded. What is also interesting is that these fragments were not discovered earlier as a result of demining operations in Shushi since December. Why should such results come out at this particular time in a relatively small area of demining operations?

It is obvious that Baku is trying to convey something to Russia regarding certain processes. We all know that Iskander could not have been used in Shushi, as it was in the arsenal of Armenia, and if it had been used, then Russia might face issues. Supposedly, discussions about the use of Iskander were taking place at the level of an unsuspecting Prime Minister of Armenia, but in another light—under the pretext of non-explosion or partial explosion. However, it was later denied by the well-known statement, which was also confirmed by Moscow. The question seemed to be closed; however, Turkey is signaling Russia through Azerbaijan that if I insist on the thesis of the use of Iskander, you will face problems. What do they need this for? Why are they trying to blackmail Russia at this stage?”