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BAKU: EU's External Relations Commissioner Calls For Decreasing Defe

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  • BAKU: EU's External Relations Commissioner Calls For Decreasing Defe

    EU'S EXTERNAL RELATIONS COMMISSIONER CALLS FOR DECREASING DEFENSE EXPENDITURE IN AZERBAIJAN

    Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
    Aug. 30, 2006

    In an unusually strongly worded speech, delivered at a conference
    in Slovenia on August 28, the EU's external relations commissioner,
    Benita Ferrero-Waldner, observed that "defense expenditure in Georgia
    and Azerbaijan is going through the roof." APA reports quoting
    RFE/Radio Liberty.

    Ferrero-Waldner noted in her speech that increases in defense
    expenditure send a negative message in terms of resolving the region's
    conflicts. The commissioner also says such increases are unjustifiable
    in countries that are "in desperate need of investment in education,
    health, and small businesses."

    The commissioner also criticized leaders in the region for their
    "inflammatory rhetoric." She also noted there has been "little or no
    progress" toward settling the conflicts in the region, including the
    Nagorno-Garabagh conflict.

    Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told the APA it is not informed about
    Ferrero-Waldner's statement. The Ministry official said such statement
    might be regarded as interference with the interior affairs of an
    independent state.
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