Armenia used Russian weapons to occupy Azerbaijani territories, Lavrov says

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated in Yerevan that Armenia used Russian-supplied weapons during its occupation of seven Azerbaijani districts, which it never officially claimed.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a notable statement during a press conference in Yerevan, addressing the use of Russian weapons in the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Responding to a question from an Armenian journalist, Lavrov emphasized that both Armenia and Azerbaijan have used Russian arms - and that Armenia had done so during its occupation of internationally recognized Azerbaijani territories.

“As for claims that Azerbaijan used Russian weapons - let me remind you that Armenia, for almost all the years since gaining independence, used Russian arms as well, including during the occupation of seven Azerbaijani districts to which it had never officially laid claim,” Lavrov said.

He further noted that none of Armenia’s early leaders formally proposed recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as independent, despite the long-standing conflict.

“Yet Russian weapons were used to occupy these seven undisputed Azerbaijani districts and to build fortifications and defensive lines, clearly indicating a long-term intention to hold these territories,” Lavrov stated.

He concluded by referencing the assessments of various analysts, who observed that the scale and permanence of the defensive structures indicated no intention to return the occupied lands to Azerbaijan.

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