CENTRAL NEWS
Azerbaijan has admitted using Israeli-made weapons in its fighting with ethnic Armenian forces around the Republic of Artsakh, where heavy clashes this week have drawn international calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Two Azerbaijani Ilyushin Il-76 cargo planes landed at the Israeli Air Force’s Uvda base in the Negev last week, days before a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia around the Republic of Artsakh, suggesting both the preparation and replenishing of Azerbaijani forces for the latest bout of fighting. Two more planes landed in Israel since the fighting began, drawing the attention of Armenia.
Armenia recalled its ambassador to Israel on Thursday for consultations over Israeli arms sales to Azerbaijan.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict and armaments think-tank, Israel provided Azerbaijan with some $825 million in weapons between 2006 and 2019.
Those exports included drones, loitering munitions, anti-tank missiles, and a surface-to-air missile system, information from SIPRI’s Arms Transfers Database showed.
