India`s supplying arms to Armenia contradicts the "Bandung principles" - Hikmet Hajiyev

Baku/26.07.23/Turan: Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan on Foreign Policy Hikmet Hajiyev met withSridharan Madhusudhanan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of India to Baku.  Hajiyev conveyed to the Indian Ambassador the concern of the Azerbaijani side about the deepening of military cooperation between Armenia and India, the official message.

In particular, it was pointed out that photos and videos circulated in the media in recent days about the transportation of Indian-made weapons systems through Iran to Armenia.

Hajiyev stressed that India's arms supplies to Armenia, at a time when Azerbaijan is negotiating a peace agreement with this country, serve to militarize Armenia and aggravate the situation, hinder the establishment of lasting peace and security in the South Caucasus region. It is also inconsistent with India's foreign policy based on the norms and principles of international law, as well as with the "Bandung Principles" of the Non-Aligned Movement, in which this country is represented.

Hajiyev called on the Indian Ambassador to bring to the attention of official Delhi the serious concern of the Azerbaijani side to reconsider India's decision to supply weapons to Armenia.

The Indian Ambassador assured that he would inform official Delhi about the issue raised by Azerbaijan, noted the importance of dialogue between the two countries to discuss issues of concern in bilateral relations. Hajiyev stressed that Azerbaijan is always open for dialogue with India. ---06B---