"Azerbaijan has not only Turkish weapons, but also Russian, Israeli, Belarusian and Ukrainian weapons. Because today we have a wider geography of military equipment procurement, and we pay for it. If you look at how and where Armenia gets its weapons, you will see that they are not able to pay for the weapons they have. Because it is billions of dollars, and it is impossible for a poor country. They get weapons from their allies for free, and we pay for them. "
The statement came from President Ilham Aliyev in an interview with CNN International.
Answering the host's question about F-16 fighter jets, the head of state said:
"F-16 fighter jets came to Azerbaijan to take part in military exercises. Last year, Azerbaijan and Turkey held 10 joint military exercises. Turkey is our ally, and it is customary to hold military exercises here, including with the participation of the Air Force. By the way, due to the pandemic this year, we have held only two military exercises. One of them happened before Armenia attacked us. So F-16 fighter jets are on the ground, they don't fly, they don't take part in any combat. ”
In an interview, the President of Azerbaijan, who unequivocally confirmed the non-use of F-16 aircraft in military operations, also spoke about the Armenian fake news in this regard. "In the first days of the clashes, they said that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian Su-25. This is fake news, and those who accuse us of it should now apologize to us, because everyone knows that this is fake news. "F-16 fighter jets are here, but they are on the ground, as you rightly said," said President Ilham Aliyev.
In an interview with CNN International, President Ilham Aliyev asked the presenter, "Are there any Turkish forces or Turkish equipment in Azerbaijan now?" said in response to a question:
"There is Turkish equipment in Azerbaijan, there are no Turkish forces. To be honest, I regret that the President of Armenia used this opportunity to spread rumors through CNN to send a message to the world. I can't call it anything else, because, as you presented to me, I did not see what he said, I did not see what he said, but what I heard from you is completely wrong, this is false information. "
Stressing Turkey's political and diplomatic support to Azerbaijan, the head of state said: "If it were not for this support, if Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement" Azerbaijan is not alone, Turkey is with Azerbaijan "was not a very open position, Armenia would probably have achieved its goal today. would be. This includes expanding the geography of the conflict and involving as many countries as possible in the conflict so that these countries can help them on the battlefield. I also want to remind the President of Armenia who was behind Armenia's occupation of our lands in the early 1990s. We have enough evidence of who helped them to occupy our lands. Therefore, it is completely wrong and misinformation for Armenia to say "someone is helping Azerbaijan", we reject it. "