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AZERBAIJAN: ARMENIA, BEHOLD MY GLORY
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63711
June 20 2011
NY
With Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's much-anticipated Kazan
pow-wow with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan just days away, one
senior Azerbaijani politician has a message he's eager to share with
you: Might makes right.
When Azerbaijan parades its military might on Army Day on June 26,
"[o]nce more everyone will see the change in correlation of power
in favor of Azerbaijan in every direction," declared ruling Yeni
Azerbaijan Party Deputy Executive Secretary Mubariz Gurbanli. "The
moral, psychological, economic, social and political superiority of
our nation will convince external forces to put pressure on Armenia."
And let's not forget economic muscle. Armenia can invest all it
wants in its economy, Gurbanli claimed, but it will never compare
with hydrocarbon-rich Azerbaijan. Why? As News.az paraphrased it:
"The reason is the dynamic development of Azerbaijan and the economic
strength of our country."
The timing of Gurbanli's observations is not accidental. The Army
Day display comes a day after the Kazan summit, an event at which
Azerbaijan, conceivably, intends to parade its diplomatic might as
well. Some analysts have gone into orbit over expectations for the
summit, characterized as everything from a last chance for Karabakh
peacemaking to a chance for a mega-breakthrough.
But in this macho match, Armenia has its own words of warning. Last
week, the deputy commander of Armenia's air force announced that
Armenia has manufactured its own "quite serious unmanned aerial
vehicles" that will let it, "like developed NATO countries," make
"targeted strikes on any enemy target, economic facility and the like."
Call it a draw for now?
by Giorgi Lomsadze
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63711
June 20 2011
NY
With Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's much-anticipated Kazan
pow-wow with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan just days away, one
senior Azerbaijani politician has a message he's eager to share with
you: Might makes right.
When Azerbaijan parades its military might on Army Day on June 26,
"[o]nce more everyone will see the change in correlation of power
in favor of Azerbaijan in every direction," declared ruling Yeni
Azerbaijan Party Deputy Executive Secretary Mubariz Gurbanli. "The
moral, psychological, economic, social and political superiority of
our nation will convince external forces to put pressure on Armenia."
And let's not forget economic muscle. Armenia can invest all it
wants in its economy, Gurbanli claimed, but it will never compare
with hydrocarbon-rich Azerbaijan. Why? As News.az paraphrased it:
"The reason is the dynamic development of Azerbaijan and the economic
strength of our country."
The timing of Gurbanli's observations is not accidental. The Army
Day display comes a day after the Kazan summit, an event at which
Azerbaijan, conceivably, intends to parade its diplomatic might as
well. Some analysts have gone into orbit over expectations for the
summit, characterized as everything from a last chance for Karabakh
peacemaking to a chance for a mega-breakthrough.
But in this macho match, Armenia has its own words of warning. Last
week, the deputy commander of Armenia's air force announced that
Armenia has manufactured its own "quite serious unmanned aerial
vehicles" that will let it, "like developed NATO countries," make
"targeted strikes on any enemy target, economic facility and the like."
Call it a draw for now?