A large cargo plane belonging to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense (MOD) landed in Israel twice in recent weeks, apparently at the Uvda military airfield in the Negev, Public Radio of Armenia reported referring to an article in Haaretz daily of Israel.

These flights occurred about two weeks ago, in the midst of the latest fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Ilyushin 76 cargo plane arrived in Israel on April 4 and again on April 6, according to an internet flight database.

The plane, which flies under the call sign AZAF8 (Azerbaijani Air Force 8), came from the direction of Turkey, flew over Cyprus and entered Israeli airspace, according to the respective report.

The plane remained on the ground for two to three hours each time before taking off again for the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku. It is not clear whether the plane unloaded cargo or loaded it, Haaretz said.

According to foreign reports, Israel has become a key supplier of arms to Azerbaijan in recent years, selling nearly $5 billion worth of weapons over the past four years.