11/14/2020 Syria (International Christian Concern) –  While visiting the Holy See on Wednesday, the Armenian ambassador expressed concern that Turkey’s recruitment of Syrian Islamic extremists to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone in support of Azerbaijan is a serious threat to the region.

“The transfer of terrorists to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone reveals the intentions of Turkey and Azerbaijan leadership to give the conflict an interreligious character, and this is truly very dangerous,” he said.

This conflict has both an interreligious and ethnic character. Ethnic Armenians are Christian, and their ancestors’ victim of a Turkish genocide a century ago. Both Azerbaijan and Turkey share a common Islamic Turkic identity. The introduction of Syrian mercenaries into the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict further emphasizes the religious nature, especially as many Syrian mercenaries have reported that their instructions were framed in the context of committing jihad against Christians.

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