Armenia said Tuesday that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet had shot down one of its SU-25 warplanes after taking off from Azerbaijan amid fierce clashes over the breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region.
“An Armenian SU-25 aircraft has been shot down by a Turkish F-16 warplane… which flew from Azerbaijan’s territory,” Armenian defense ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan wrote on Facebook, adding that the “Armenian pilot has heroically died.”
Turkey and Azerbaijan both denied Tuesday an Armenian claim that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet had shot down an Armenian warplane.
Armenian defense ministry spokeswoman says Armenian SU-25 downed
Armenian defense ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said the Armenian SU-25 warplane was downed — and its pilot killed — during clashes over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s top press aide Fahrettin Altun called the claim “absolutely untrue”.
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“Armenia should withdraw from the territories under its occupation instead of resorting to cheap propaganda tricks,” Altun said.
With casualties rapidly mounting in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, the Trump Administration needs to call the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan immediately to de-escalate the situation. It must also demand others — like Turkey — stay out of this conflict. https://t.co/C41YKEGTyA
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 29, 2020
Azerbaijan defense ministry spokesman Vagif Dyargahly also called the claim “yet another lie of Armenian propaganda”.
Armenia accuses Turkey of sending mercenaries to back Azerbaijan
Armenia had earlier this week also accused Turkey of sending mercenaries to back Azerbaijani forces in the ethnically Armenian region.
Turkey officially denies this.
But Altun wrote on Twitter earlier Tuesday that Turkey was “fully committed” to help Azerbaijan “take back its occupied lands”.
GVS News Desk