Baku's propaganda questions fighting ability of Azerbaijani army: NKR Defense Ministry

Information department of the Defense Ministry of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh has issued a statement over the reaction of the Azerbaijani mass media and the mutually-exclusive statements by the Azerbaijani experts related to the surrender of the Azerbaijani sergeant Roman Huseynov to the NKR forces a few days ago.

Contrary to a statement by the Armenian sources that Huseynov surrendered to the NKR forces the Azerbaijani sources said that he did not surrender but was rather captured by the NKR forces and held in captivity.

"By circulating the version of captivity, in fact, Baku's propaganda machine lays the grounds not only to question systematically entwined dithyramb about the fighting capability of their own army, but also to suppose that the frontline of the Azerbaijani army is undefended," reads the statement.

Further the statement recalls comments by the Azerbaijani expert Uzeir Jafarov over the incident. Mr Jafarov had said that it was not excluded that the Armenian side would force Huseynov to confess to the Armenian TV channels that he surrendered to the Armenian forces through his own will and will speak about the lack of discipline in the Azerbaijani army.

"As what concerns to the issue that the Armenian side will make sergeant Huseynov discredit his own army, then perhaps the Azerbaijani propagandists should be reminded that that method is and has been as an exclusive monopoly of Azerbaijan.

Be sure that any Azerbaijani soldier, including Roman Huseynov, who will through his own will surrender to the Karabakhi army, will be more protected, than in the military unit he served, and will enjoy all the rights stipulated by the international laws, including, why not, also the right to free and public self-expression," reads the statement.