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AZERBAIJAN'S DEFENCE MINISTRY TALKS TOUGH ON KARABAKH
news.az
Aug 17, 2011
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has dismissed claims from breakaway Karabakh that it would
lose if hostilities were to be resumed over the territory.
"They make similar statements now and again, while they understand that
the situation is totally different. They are seeking to calm internal
anxiety with such senseless and absurd statements," Azerbaijani
Defence Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told an APA correspondent.
Serious shortcomings in Armenia itself and the military units in
the occupied lands have caused great public anxiety and the Armenian
government and military leadership are also concerned, Sabiroglu said.
"If you look at news sources in Armenia, you can see the proof of
my words there. They are very anxious. They fear the development
of the Azerbaijani army and the new weapons it has obtained. They
have lost their peace of mind at the annual growth in Azerbaijan's
military expenditure, ordered by Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham
Aliyev. This is the reason behind their senseless statements. Not only
we, but also other states and influential international organizations
acknowledge this."
His remarks come after unrecognized Karabakh's defence minister, Movses
Hakobyan, told a press conference on 12 August that the Azerbaijani
army would suffer another defeat if it attempted to end the conflict
by force.
"In my view, if Azerbaijan thinks that it can solve the Artsakh
[Karabakh] problem by military means, the resumption of hostilities
will be possible," Radio Liberty's Armenian Service reported Hakobyan
as saying.
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry spokesman countered that a recent
report by a UK think-tank showed that the Azerbaijani army was ahead
of the Armenian armed forces in all parameters. "Given the battle
capability of the personnel, in the event of a new war Azerbaijan's
victory over Armenia in a short period of time is inevitable,"
Sabiroglu said.
Movses Hakobyan said last week that the Karabakh army's potential
had increased 20% since the introduction of a reform program in 2010.
"The program will be continuous and we will not allow the Azerbaijani
army to leave us behind in the issue of arms," Hakobyan said, according
to International Public Radio of Armenia.
He said that the Karabakh armed forces had acquired significant amounts
of new weapons this year and would continue the military buildup in
the months to come.
"During this period, the qualitative and quantitative state of our
weapons and military hardware changed quite a lot," Hakobyan told
the news conference. "Quite serious reforms were carried out with
the restructuring of two army brigades.
"We re-armed one artillery regiment with new systems. The anti-tank
and air-defence means of a dozen battalions were enhanced. And this
year we will receive more tanks - two more divisions - and some of
the weaponry of the army's air-defence system will be replaced."
Hakobyan, who commanded some Karabakh Armenian units during the
1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan, gave no other details of the buildup,
Radio Liberty's Armenian Service commented.
Armenia, whose armed forces are closely connected with the Karabakh
military, is likely to be the main source of the arms acquisitions
reported by him.
Claims and counter-claims of a victory in a renewed war for Karabakh
are made by both sides from time to time.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 when Armenia made
claims on the Azerbaijani territory. Armenian armed forces later
occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani territory in a bitter war, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Despite
a ceasefire in 1994, no long-term peace agreement has been reached.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of
territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in
the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to
see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian
news.az
Aug 17, 2011
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has dismissed claims from breakaway Karabakh that it would
lose if hostilities were to be resumed over the territory.
"They make similar statements now and again, while they understand that
the situation is totally different. They are seeking to calm internal
anxiety with such senseless and absurd statements," Azerbaijani
Defence Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told an APA correspondent.
Serious shortcomings in Armenia itself and the military units in
the occupied lands have caused great public anxiety and the Armenian
government and military leadership are also concerned, Sabiroglu said.
"If you look at news sources in Armenia, you can see the proof of
my words there. They are very anxious. They fear the development
of the Azerbaijani army and the new weapons it has obtained. They
have lost their peace of mind at the annual growth in Azerbaijan's
military expenditure, ordered by Supreme Commander-in-Chief Ilham
Aliyev. This is the reason behind their senseless statements. Not only
we, but also other states and influential international organizations
acknowledge this."
His remarks come after unrecognized Karabakh's defence minister, Movses
Hakobyan, told a press conference on 12 August that the Azerbaijani
army would suffer another defeat if it attempted to end the conflict
by force.
"In my view, if Azerbaijan thinks that it can solve the Artsakh
[Karabakh] problem by military means, the resumption of hostilities
will be possible," Radio Liberty's Armenian Service reported Hakobyan
as saying.
The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry spokesman countered that a recent
report by a UK think-tank showed that the Azerbaijani army was ahead
of the Armenian armed forces in all parameters. "Given the battle
capability of the personnel, in the event of a new war Azerbaijan's
victory over Armenia in a short period of time is inevitable,"
Sabiroglu said.
Movses Hakobyan said last week that the Karabakh army's potential
had increased 20% since the introduction of a reform program in 2010.
"The program will be continuous and we will not allow the Azerbaijani
army to leave us behind in the issue of arms," Hakobyan said, according
to International Public Radio of Armenia.
He said that the Karabakh armed forces had acquired significant amounts
of new weapons this year and would continue the military buildup in
the months to come.
"During this period, the qualitative and quantitative state of our
weapons and military hardware changed quite a lot," Hakobyan told
the news conference. "Quite serious reforms were carried out with
the restructuring of two army brigades.
"We re-armed one artillery regiment with new systems. The anti-tank
and air-defence means of a dozen battalions were enhanced. And this
year we will receive more tanks - two more divisions - and some of
the weaponry of the army's air-defence system will be replaced."
Hakobyan, who commanded some Karabakh Armenian units during the
1991-1994 war with Azerbaijan, gave no other details of the buildup,
Radio Liberty's Armenian Service commented.
Armenia, whose armed forces are closely connected with the Karabakh
military, is likely to be the main source of the arms acquisitions
reported by him.
Claims and counter-claims of a victory in a renewed war for Karabakh
are made by both sides from time to time.
The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988 when Armenia made
claims on the Azerbaijani territory. Armenian armed forces later
occupied a swathe of Azerbaijani territory in a bitter war, including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Despite
a ceasefire in 1994, no long-term peace agreement has been reached.
The nub of the conflict remains unresolved - the competing claims of
territorial integrity, which Azerbaijan insists takes precedence in
the case of Karabakh, and self-determination, which Armenia wants to
see for the Armenians of Karabakh.
From: A. Papazian