In an interview with the Turkish television channel CNN Türk, Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev was critical of Russia's alleged plan to intensively supply Armenia with weapons. Aliyev openly warned Russia against supplying arms to Armenia, recalling that many Russian weapons are already on display in the "trophy park" in downtown Baku. These words came several days after the meeting between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his counterpart from Armenia Arshak Karapetyan.

"We expect Russia to implement all the provisions of the trilateral declaration [of November 9, 2020]. Because this trilateral declaration was signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia and Armenia and most of it has already been implemented. But there are some issues that are still open.... Russia, as a neighbor of Azerbaijan and a close ally of Armenia, certainly plays a special role in this region. This is only natural. We hope that Russia will continue to spare no effort to ensure security in the region and take measures to ensure lasting peace. At the same time, we assume that Russia will not arm Armenia. We have brought this issue to the attention of Russian officials. We are concerned about it. The war is over. The people of Armenia have come to terms with this situation. The Armenian government has also resigned itself to its own defeat, as the recent parliamentary elections in Armenia showed. Thus, the population has already signaled its preference for a defeated party. Such a thing has never happened in history, that a defeated party is supported by the people.

Under such circumstances, of course, it makes no sense to arm Armenia. It is not the case yet, but there have been some statements from Russia. A few days ago, at a meeting with the Armenian Defense Minister, the Russian Defense Minister said that the process of supplying Russian weapons to Armenia had begun. This is a very worrying issue. Moreover, the new Armenian Defense Minister has made very irresponsible statements... It seems that the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War has not yet been a lesson for everyone. If that is the case, we are ready to teach them another lesson. That is why we hope that Russia will not arm Armenia, because there is no reason for that.

"The area in Khankandi (Stepanakert), which is under the control of the Russian peacekeeping mission, is now a safe area. At the same time, the situation on our border with Armenia is sometimes worrying, but on the whole it is stable. So, of course, we want Russia to take into account our concerns on this issue. Because no matter how many weapons are delivered, the balance of power will not change. Over the past 30 years, Russia has provided Armenia with billions of dollars worth of weapons for free - some of which are now on display in our trophy park...," Aliyev said.

Azerbaijani-Russian relations have been marked by growing tensions in recent weeks. Russia's Defense Ministry, for example, said on Aug. 12 that Azerbaijan had violated the ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh by using combat drones to attack Armenian positions. For its part, Azerbaijan insists that all Armenian military units must be withdrawn from the part of Nagorno-Karabakh where Russia's peacekeepers are stationed, which has not yet happened. In doing so, Baku refers to the 4th point of the November 9 Trilateral Declaration, which states that Armenian troops must be withdrawn from the region simultaneously with the deployment of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.