YEREVAN, MARCH 9, ARMENPRESS. Turkey has sent the Syrian militants who stayed in Nagorno Karabakh after fighting for Azerbaijan against Armenian forces in the 2020 war into Ukraine to fight against Russia, RIA Novosti reported citing a source from the Syrian opposition.

“Turkey sent more than 2000 militants from Syria to Nagorno Karabakh to participate in the combat operations against Armenia in 2020, and the majority of these militants stayed there after the military operations ended. Turkey again sent some of these militants from Syria and other countries from Karabakh into Ukraine to participate in the conflict from the Ukrainian side,” the source told RIA Novosti.

According to the source, the militants were signed up into the foreign legion of the Ukrainian military.

Turkey recruited and sent foreign mercenaries – over 2500 - to fight for Azerbaijan against Armenia in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war. Despite Ankara denying this, the Armenian authorities have presented numerous evidence proving the participation of the Syrian mercenaries from the Azeri side in the Artsakh war. 

The Russian foreign intelligence service had also gathered information on Sultan Murad mercenaries’ participation in the Karabakh war.

The President of France Emmanuel Macron also said that his intelligence agencies have information that Turkey is sending mercenaries to Azerbaijan to fight against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh.

Earlier in 2021, the Armenian authorities said that the investigation has revealed that Azerbaijan pre-planned the war back in June 2020 and recruited more than 2000 Syrian mercenaries and deployed them via Turkey. Azeri authorities transferred payments namely to the Suleyman Shah and Sultan Murad terror groups.

Audio recordings of the Sultan Murad fighters in Nagorno Karabakh were intercepted during the war.

Two Syrian mercenaries captured by the Armenian forces were subsequently sentenced to life in prison. 

According to various reports, around 1000 Syrian mercenaries who survived the war did not leave Nagorno Karabakh.