During the April war 2016 the Islamic factor did not work in Nagorno-Karabakh just as 22 years ago, expert in ethnic and political studies in the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Science Akhmet Yarlykapov stated during a two-day international conference "Caucasus- 2015", held annually in Yerevan.
"According to various data 500 to 1000 citizens of Azerbaijan are fighting on the ISIS side currently. However, terrorists of this organization were not involved in the April war in Karabakh. ISIS is not interested currently in involving into this conflict. This terrorist organization has recently revised its priorities from creating flash-points of instability to founding network establishments in various countries", he noted.
The expert noted the "Caucasus Vilayet" founded in the Northern Caucasus as one of such network establishments mentioning that there are no such networks in Azerbaijan and their establishment in the nearest future is not real in that country.
Yarlykapov explains his opinion saying that Baku itself is not interested in ISIS terrorists' presence in Azerbaijan. According to his assessment in conditions of escalation of tensions between Sunnis and Shias in the Middle East involvement of ISIS in Azerbaijan inhabited by Sunnis and Shias is not reasonable for Baku.