ANKARA: Turkey denied an Armenian claim that a Turkish F-16 fighter jet shot down an Armenian Su-25 warplane during conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
“The claim that Turkey shot down an Armenian fighter jet is absolutely untrue,” said Fahrettin Altun, communications director of Turkey’s presidency.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a cease-fire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes along the border.
A new round of armed conflict broke out Sunday morning along the contact line of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The ongoing clashes have reportedly caused heavy casualties and equipment loss.
Earlier, A Turkish F-16 warplane shot down an Armenian Su-25 attack aircraft on Tuesday, according to a report by Armenia’s state-run Armenpress.
The Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet which took off from the Gyanja airport in Azerbaijan shot down an on-duty SU-25 jet of the Armenian Air Force in Armenian airspace on Tuesday, Armenpress quoted Defense Ministry spokeswoman Shushan Stepanyan’s tweet as saying.
The pilot of the SU-25 aircraft died during the incident, she said.
However, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry has denied the accusation, saying the alleged shooting down is false, according to foreign media.
A new round of clashes broke out on Sunday morning along the contact line of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been at loggerheads over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. Peace talks have been held since 1994 when a ceasefire was reached, but there have been occasional minor clashes along the borders.–Agencies
