Until the liberation of Aghdam in 1993, a lot of mercenaries from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Chechnya and other regions fought against Armenians in various directions mainly in the direction of Aghdam. There were times when we had a lot of hostages, corpses, documents, and we always informed the international community about the participation of mercenaries both during the hostilities and after the war.

The Chechen terrorist groups headed by Shamil Basayev also took part in hostilities. After the Armenians had destroyed the Aghdam emplacements, they founded their base in the school of Bash-Karbend village and carried out direct offensive and subversive activities against us. The Askeran regiment was quartered in this part of Karabakhi front under my commandment.

As far as we knew, members of Basayev's gang changed each other from time to time. This way they had an opportunity to prepare more militaries in a real war. The Chechens came to our motherland because of religious motives; they came to a sacred war – Jihad - to support the Azeris who had the same religion.

The Chechens were well-organized warriors, with excellent military skills and strong fighting spirit, and they did not go to any comparison with Azeris. We communicated with Chechens via radio connection several times and explained that it was not their war, that we didn't have any problems with them and persuaded to leave Artsakh. However, our negotiations were fruitless. Nothing remained but to explain it by force.

The Chechens’ last battle against us was in the autumn of 1993. Basayev's gang suffered many losses since the Azerbaijanis had left the positions near the outskirts of Bash-Karbend. We liberated the village in a good counterattack. The details of the operation on the destruction of Basayev's gang are not unveiled yet due to strategic reasons and taking into account the fact that the war isn't over yet. However, today all this is part of our soldiers’ training.

The Chechens suffered many losses, and we gave them an opportunity to take away the corpses of their military friends. They left Artsakh once and forever. I don't rule out the participation of some Chechens in future military operations, but it was random.

Shamil Basayev expressed opinions about his Karabakh experience several times. Later they fought in Abkhazia against Georgia. And when the Chechens together with the Armenian battalion of Abkhazia once again succeeded in an operation, a dinner was organized. Armenians invited Basayev and his men to a dinner, but the soldiers refused saying that they couldn't sit at a table with the Armenians as they had fought against them in Karabakh.

Worthy and brave, knowing the value of their military friends - these were the Chechens I had met on the battlefield. Representatives of our nations have lived side by side for centuries and there are still Armenians living in Chechnya today. I am sorry for some Chechen groups which had participated in Karabakh war. Our two nations can correct this mistake. At the same time, this example must serve as a good lesson for those who come to Artsakh with hostile intentions. We still have decent teachers who can teach us a good lesson.

Read more about Shamil Basayev’s participation in Karabakh war here.

Vitaly Balasanyan is NKR National Assembly member, Hero of Artsakh

These views are his own.