Recently, there have been calls and proposals for Azerbaijan to lift the arms sales embargo to Ukraine. Even Russia's "Voenkor Kotenok" Telegram channel, citing anonymous sources, claimed that Azerbaijan has already begun the production of 122 mm and 155 mm artillery shells for shipment to Ukraine.
If Azerbaijan lifts the arms sales embargo, what weapons could it sell to Ukraine?
Answering Medianews.az's question, military expert Sakhavat Mammad stated that this issue has been brought up approximately two weeks ago: "After the Russians hit SOCAR’s fuel centers in Ukraine, some media outlets and experts in our country began to express the opinion that 'Azerbaijan should lift the arms sales embargo to Ukraine.' But first of all, it should be noted whether Azerbaijan has imposed any embargo? Our country is not considered one of the world's major arms manufacturers. However, Azerbaijan neither sells weapons to the warring parties, that is, neither to Russia nor Ukraine, nor allows, through third parties, the transfer of weapons produced in Azerbaijan to them. After Russia's attacks on objects owned by the Azerbaijani state in Ukraine, such opinions have been voiced that Azerbaijan could sell weapons to Ukraine or lift the arms embargo."
According to S. Mammad, about 54 countries worldwide provide arms and financial aid to Ukraine: "Large arms producers like the USA, as well as Germany, France, and many other European arms manufacturers, supply substantial weapons and ammunition to Ukraine. In such a situation, will the weapons that Azerbaijan might supply to Ukraine seriously affect the course of the war? We should look at this first."
S. Mammad says that Azerbaijan mostly produces small arms and ammunition and believes these weapons may not significantly influence the course of the war: "Some military experts in the Ukrainian media have also spoken on this topic. From their words, it indirectly follows that it is not reasonable to expect that the weapons they could acquire from Azerbaijan would cause a fundamental change in the war."
However, if Azerbaijan sells weapons, it could derive financial income from this. On the other hand, we must also properly calculate the political consequences of this step. What could Russia's response be to our selling weapons to Ukraine? Indeed, Russia is already acting against us by striking SOCAR’s sites in Ukraine. However, once the issue of arms sales arises, our already tense relations with Russia could worsen further. Therefore, at this time, calls to start selling weapons to Ukraine seem to me more like a part of the information war."
Naile Qasımova,
Medianews.az