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Armenian DM: Efficient Army Is Not Only Big Financing

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  • Armenian DM: Efficient Army Is Not Only Big Financing

    ARMENIAN DM: EFFICIENT ARMY IS NOT ONLY BIG FINANCING

    ARMINFO News Agency
    October 10, 2006 Tuesday

    Efficient army is not only big financing, Armenian Defense Minister
    Serzh Sargsyan says in an interview to REGNUM (Russia) and El Pais
    (Spain).

    Asked for how long the "neither peace nor war" situation may go on in
    Nagorno-Karabakh now that Azerbaijan is quite actively strengthening
    its economy, Sargsyan says that the Azeri economy is really developing,
    but in 2005 Armenia had bigger economic growth.

    This year, due to growing oil revenues, Azerbaijan is developing a
    bit more actively, but it would be wrong to say that the economic
    growth in Azerbaijan may force the Armenian side to capitulate. On
    the contrary, it may urge it to work better and to seek improvement
    not only in the economy but in other sectors - to become a developed
    state with a modern highly efficient army. "Only this will allow us
    to effectively oppose Azerbaijan in case of new war," says Sargsyan.

    He notes that Azerbaijan does not have an overwhelming economic
    advantage over Armenia. It will take Azerbaijan several decades
    to attain the advantages it had in the early 1990s. And even then,
    despite its big advantages, the Azeri side lost the war. "So, I would
    like to advise all those relying on money to come to their senses and
    to consider the lessons of the war Azerbaijan has once unleashed and
    lost," says Sargsyan."

    He says that in 2007 Armenia plans to spend 3.5% of its GDP on defense
    - some $270-280 mln. This may be much for Armenia but compared with
    some other countries this is not enough for building a modern efficient
    army. Everything is relative, says Sargsyan.

    Asked if the Nagorno-Karabakh problem can be solved by peace, Sargsyan
    says: "Of course, it can. Any peace agreement implies agreement of
    the sides. This is like marriage. There is no marriage without mutual
    agreement. So, if we seek to solve the problem and Azerbaijan not, we
    can't help it. We believe that this problem must be solved peacefully
    on the basis of mutual compromise," says Sargsyan.

    Asked about the possibility of return of refugees, Sargsyan says
    that now that the problem is yet unresolved, that people have not
    yet healed the wounds they got during the war, the return of refugees
    is impossible.

    The compromise is not about this. The people who left Nagorno-Karabakh
    14-15 years ago have long settled down in new environments and are
    hardly prepared to leave everything they have there and to come back
    to Nagorno-Karabakh. The compromise is about Azerbaijan's recognizing
    the right of the Karabakh people to live independently, so they can
    feel themselves secure and no longer rely on the security zone. There
    are other important components. The compromise must concern security -
    only then it will lead to stable peace, says Sargsyan.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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