Azerbaijan hands air command of Karabakh offensive over to TurkeySeptember 30, 2020 - 21:08 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan has handed the air command of its offensive against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) over to the Turkish Air Forces, Armenian Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan said Wednesday, September 30. Starting from 10:00 am on Wednesday, Stepanyan said, two F-16 fighter jets of the Turkish Air Forces flying from Kurdamir, as well as the SU-25 aircrafts of the Azerbaijani Air Force, the Bayraktar reconnaissance and surveillance attack drones carried out bombing and missile attacks near civilian settlements of Hadrut and Martuni regions of Artsakh. "The air force is being operated under the remote command and control of the Turkish E7-T airborne C2 station from Erzurum. The command and leadership of the Turkish Air Forces is most possibly on the board," the spokeswoman said. "Apart from that, Turkish UAV C2 station is located at a distance from the border with Hadrut region, which directly controls the fire of Azerbaijani attack planes. The above-mentioned information is being directly monitored and observed by the C2 of the joint air defense and aviation command." Stepanyan pledged to unveil materials of live monitoring and recording systems soon. Azerbaijan launched a major offensive against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27, shelling Armenian positions and civilian settlements with large caliber weapons and rocket systems. Armenia and Karabakh have introduced martial law and total mobilization. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. On September 29, the Azerbaijani army began shelling position and civilian settlements in Armenia, which resulted in civilian casualty. Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has launched a fundraising campaign to support Nagorno-Karabakh amid Azerbaijan's aggression. Top stories The number of state universities will be reduced from 23 to 8 by 2030, Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sport Zhanna Andreasyan has said. From September 21 to November 11, a total of 2,820 Russians registered at a place of residence in Armenia, the police has said. The situation on the contact line between Karabakh and Azerbaijan was relatively stable overnight, the Defense Army says. Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has visited the southern Armenian province of Syunik, the Defense Ministry reported on March 18. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia clarifying reports on Baku’s alleged arms supply to Ukraine Russia says is carefully working to verify reports about alleged arms supplies from Azerbaijan to Ukraine |