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  • Azerbaijan spends its oil dollars on buying weapons

    PanARMENIAN.Net

    Azerbaijan spends its oil dollars on buying weapons

    The Azerbaijani authorities, who keep declaring their military
    superiority over Armenia, realize that without Turkey's military
    assistance they will be unable to try to `restore control' over the
    territories bordering to Nagorno-Karabakh. 24.07.2008 GMT+04:00

    Russian magazine Moscow Defense Brief published the list of reported
    deliveries of military equipment to Azerbaijan in 2000`2007. Whatever
    we say, the list is rather impressive and it seems as though
    Azerbaijan is going to fight against the whole region. Shortly after
    the publication Defense Minister of Azerbaijan hurried to disclaim the
    statement, naturally, shifting the blame onto the «Armenian
    intrigues».

    /PanA RMENIAN.Net/ In 2007 Azerbaijan signed a contract with the
    Arzamas Machine Building Plant for delivery in 2008 of a few Russian
    BTR-90 and 70 BTR-80A. One of the conditions of the agreement reached
    in 2002 over the status of the Gabalina radar station was the
    provision of military assistance to modernize Azerbaijan's air force
    and air defense systems, train the Azeri military in Russia, and
    provide repair services for military equipment. Turkey provided the
    greatest amount of aid, reaching a total of 170 million USD in
    2005. According to Undersecretary for Defense Industry of Turkey Murad
    Bayar, Ankara is presently considering the possibility of producing
    new tanks in the territory of Azerbaijan for the Armed Forces of both
    countries. According to him, the appropriate agreement may be signed
    between the defense authorities of the two countries in the current
    month. `We can also join efforts in producing robot planes and
    mine-detectors,' the Minister added. In his words Turkey has also
    suggested Azerbaijan modernization of T-72 tanks.

    Besides Russia, Azerbaijan has also purchased small arms and modern
    communications equipment from American and Israeli firms. And now it
    is putting the emphasis on acquiring new aviation equipment for its
    air force. In 2005 Azerbaijan signed a contract with the Ukraine for
    the delivery of twelve MiG-29 fighters, two MiG-29UB aircraft, and
    twelve L-39 training aircraft. It bought twelve Su-25 assault planes
    (probably Czech) and one Su-27UB from Georgia. Negotiations with the
    Ukraine for the acquisition of Su-27 fighters and Su-25 assault planes
    have also been reported, along with modernization in the Ukraine of
    Azeri Mi-24 combat helicopters by the South African ATE Company's
    Super Hind Mk-III program. Besides, Azerbaijan is reportedly looking
    forward to acquiring new Chinese FC-1 light fighters.

    According to the list provided by Moscow Defense Brief, Azerbaijan
    acquired 106 T-72 main battle tanks from the Ukraine, Belarus,
    Slovakia, Bulgaria and Georgia in the years of 2002-2006. The list
    shows that Ukraine holds the first position in delivering military
    equipment to Baku, which is not surprising, as still in the time of
    war Kiev used to provide the Azerbaijani Army not only with military
    equipment, but also with pilots and snipers. What is quite surprising
    the list also includes patrol cutters: in 2000 one AB-25 patrol cutter
    was bought from Turkey, in 2003 another Point patrol cutter Azerbaijan
    acquired from the USA, two Small patrol cutters were delivered from
    the USA and another 30 from Turkey in the period of 2001-2005. The
    cutters are assigned for the Caspian Sea and, in all probability, will
    «protect» the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea
    against Turkmenistan and Iran, from whose territory Baku pumps
    oil. However, these are particulars that cannot trouble
    Azerbaijan. The oil revenues are still enough for part of them to
    avoid Aliyev's clan. How much longer can Baku «flourish»
    with majority of its population starving? In all probability Baku
    prepares his citizens for war in order to stay away from protests. It
    is a well-proved practice, but sometimes results prove to be opposite.

    Meanwhile, as usual, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry shifts its
    blames onto others. `The information on acquired Azerbaijani military
    equipment published in the Russian press is distortion of truth. The
    Azerbaijani Defense Ministry considers it misinformation dreamed up by
    pro-Armenian Mass Media in Russia. Such articles are part of the
    information war, whose aim is to outline Azerbaijan as an aggressive
    country,' declared the Defense Minister of Azerbaijan at a press
    conference. However, Baku overlooked something: Moscow Defense Brief
    is a serious magazine and publishes only truthful information. And the
    fact that Azerbaijan is an aggressor is already a widely known
    secret. At the beginning of the year Stockholm Institute for Strategic
    Studies noted that Georgia and Azerbaijan are the countries with the
    highest military spending. Moreover, the figures provided by the
    Russian magazine are even reduced ` in fact, Azerbaijan possesses more
    military equipment. Anyway, all these figures confirm that Baku is not
    determined to come to a peaceful settlement on the Nagorno-Karabakh
    conflict and sets hopes on the power and assistance of Turkey. In the
    words of Russian expert Alexey Makarkin the Azerbaijani authorities,
    who keep declaring their military superiority over Armenia, realize
    that without Turkey's military assistance they will be unable to try
    to `bring back under their control' the territories bordering to
    Nagorno-Karabakh.

    «PanARMENIAN.Net& #xC2;» analytical department
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