The Turks have dismissed Azerbaijan’s defense minister from the command due to the minister’s ties with Russia, Wargonzo Telegram channel reports, citing its sources in Istanbul.

“According to the data obtained, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan Zakir Hasanov has been de facto dismissed from the command of the armed forces due to his close contacts with Russian army generals. Let us remind that in 1980, Hasanov graduated from the higher school of commanders of Baku and served in the Soviet troops deployed in Germany until 1985, after which he left the troops and continued service in the military district of Siberia until 1993. He obviously maintained his ties with his partners of the Russian Federation. After the scandal related to chief of the General Staff of Azerbaijan Sandikhov, the Turkish special services demanded that Aliyev dismiss all army generals having received Russian education and not let them manage the hostilities. According to @wargonzo’s sources in Istanbul, Aliyev fulfilled the demands. Currently, Hasanov is decorative and has no access to information about the situation on the military front and has lost access to all the mechanisms for decision-making.”