Tweet
Reuters
June 4 2011
Azeri defense ministry says Armenia making war inevitable
Sat Jun 4, 2011 1:39pm EDT
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's defense ministry was quoted Saturday
as saying Azeri troops would eventually be sent to seize back the
Armenian-backed breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia's Interfax news agency said the ministry accused Armenia of
repeatedly obstructing talks to resolve the dispute, which in the past
two years has seen the worst skirmishes since a 1994 ceasefire.
The comments came only weeks before the presidents of Russia, Armenia
and Azerbaijan were scheduled to meet in the Volga river city of Kazan
as part of efforts to settle a major source of instability in an oil
and gas transit zone.
"Eventually, Azerbaijani soldiers will meet the expectations of the
people, the government, and the supreme commander-in- chief and will
liberate the occupied land from the enemy," Azeri defense ministry
spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told a news conference, according to
Interfax.
In a separate report, the agency cited an Armenian defense ministry
press officer who accused the Azeris of "preparing ground for new
provocations" by disseminating misinformation.
The two southern Caucasus countries fought a six-year war over the
territory which broke away from Muslim Azerbaijan with the help of
Christian Armenia during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The
mountainous territory, and considerable lands around it, were wrested
entirely from Baku's control.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who has ramped up his country's
military power with recent arms deals, has said Azerbaijan is willing
to go to war with Armenia to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh.
(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Jon Boyle)
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE7531V420110604
June 4 2011
Azeri defense ministry says Armenia making war inevitable
Sat Jun 4, 2011 1:39pm EDT
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's defense ministry was quoted Saturday
as saying Azeri troops would eventually be sent to seize back the
Armenian-backed breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Russia's Interfax news agency said the ministry accused Armenia of
repeatedly obstructing talks to resolve the dispute, which in the past
two years has seen the worst skirmishes since a 1994 ceasefire.
The comments came only weeks before the presidents of Russia, Armenia
and Azerbaijan were scheduled to meet in the Volga river city of Kazan
as part of efforts to settle a major source of instability in an oil
and gas transit zone.
"Eventually, Azerbaijani soldiers will meet the expectations of the
people, the government, and the supreme commander-in- chief and will
liberate the occupied land from the enemy," Azeri defense ministry
spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu told a news conference, according to
Interfax.
In a separate report, the agency cited an Armenian defense ministry
press officer who accused the Azeris of "preparing ground for new
provocations" by disseminating misinformation.
The two southern Caucasus countries fought a six-year war over the
territory which broke away from Muslim Azerbaijan with the help of
Christian Armenia during the collapse of the Soviet Union. The
mountainous territory, and considerable lands around it, were wrested
entirely from Baku's control.
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, who has ramped up his country's
military power with recent arms deals, has said Azerbaijan is willing
to go to war with Armenia to reclaim Nagorno-Karabakh.
(Reporting by Alfred Kueppers; Editing by Ralph Boulton and Jon Boyle)
http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE7531V420110604