ANKARA — Turkey's defence industry chief said on Friday that his sector was ready to help Azerbaijan, which has seen border clashes with Armenia in which 16 people have been killed. Turkey has strong historical and cultural ties with Azerbaijan, as well as joint energy projects. President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that it would not hesitate to "stand against any attack" on Azerbaijan and that Armenia was "out of its depth" in the conflict. On Friday, Defence Industry Director Ismail Demir tweeted that "Our defence industry, with all its experience, technology and capabilities, from our armed drones to our ammunition and missiles and our electronic warfare systems, is always at the disposal of Azerbaijan!". Fifteen soldiers from both sides and one civilian have died since Sunday in the clashes between the neighbouring former Soviet republics, which fought a war in the 1990s over the mountainous Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Source: International New York Times July 17, 2020 10:52 UTC