Tweet
AZERBAIJANI FM CONDEMNS ARMENIA FOR ARMING BEYOND ITS COMMITMENTS
Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 11 2011
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemns Armenia for arming beyond
its commitments.
At present, the Armenian Armed Forces have 48,884 personnel and 45,000
in Nagorno-Karabakh. In all, there are 93,000 people. According to
commitments made in 1992, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have 70,000
personnel, the second secretary of the Security Problems Office of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elchin Huseynli said at the opening of
the international conference "Establishing relations across borders"
in Baku on Tuesday. It was organized by the GUAM PA and the Baltic
Assembly.
Huseynli said that Azerbaijan uses the purchased weapons to protect
its energy infrastructure.
Huseynli stressed that Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of substantial
arming and violating the balance of power in the region. He added
that Armenia is being armed much more intensively.
"Armenia purchased 16,000 Kalashnikov rifles last year and 78,000
the year before last. "Armenia prepares for war, rather than peace."
He said that Latvian company "Latspeceksports" is involved in the
sale of weapons to Armenia. Appealing to the parliamentarians of the
Baltic Assembly member-states, Huseynli called on them to investigate
this issue.
Talking about the negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Huseynli
stressed that Armenia has moved away from its positions at the talks,
which have been held for many years.
"The co-chairing countries turn a blind eye to it, the norms and
principles of the international law," he said.
He stressed that Armenia makes illegal actions in the Azerbaijani
occupied territories.
"Armenia holds the fictitious elections in the occupied territory,
destroying Azerbaijan's historical and cultural monuments," he said.
"The attempts are made to attract the companies from the Minsk Group
co-chairing countries to cooperate in these areas. Baku will never
allow this."
He said that the relations between Armenia and Russia are the cause
of instability in the region.
"Armenia is the smallest country in the region," he said. "It has
important military and political agreements with Russia now. Regional
conflicts seriously hinder the development of the region. If these
conflicts are resolved, the South Caucasus will become an economically
developed region. Azerbaijan's position is well known. The joint
projects are out of the question till the conflicts are resolved."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
From: Baghdasarian
Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 11 2011
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry condemns Armenia for arming beyond
its commitments.
At present, the Armenian Armed Forces have 48,884 personnel and 45,000
in Nagorno-Karabakh. In all, there are 93,000 people. According to
commitments made in 1992, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces have 70,000
personnel, the second secretary of the Security Problems Office of the
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Elchin Huseynli said at the opening of
the international conference "Establishing relations across borders"
in Baku on Tuesday. It was organized by the GUAM PA and the Baltic
Assembly.
Huseynli said that Azerbaijan uses the purchased weapons to protect
its energy infrastructure.
Huseynli stressed that Armenia accuses Azerbaijan of substantial
arming and violating the balance of power in the region. He added
that Armenia is being armed much more intensively.
"Armenia purchased 16,000 Kalashnikov rifles last year and 78,000
the year before last. "Armenia prepares for war, rather than peace."
He said that Latvian company "Latspeceksports" is involved in the
sale of weapons to Armenia. Appealing to the parliamentarians of the
Baltic Assembly member-states, Huseynli called on them to investigate
this issue.
Talking about the negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Huseynli
stressed that Armenia has moved away from its positions at the talks,
which have been held for many years.
"The co-chairing countries turn a blind eye to it, the norms and
principles of the international law," he said.
He stressed that Armenia makes illegal actions in the Azerbaijani
occupied territories.
"Armenia holds the fictitious elections in the occupied territory,
destroying Azerbaijan's historical and cultural monuments," he said.
"The attempts are made to attract the companies from the Minsk Group
co-chairing countries to cooperate in these areas. Baku will never
allow this."
He said that the relations between Armenia and Russia are the cause
of instability in the region.
"Armenia is the smallest country in the region," he said. "It has
important military and political agreements with Russia now. Regional
conflicts seriously hinder the development of the region. If these
conflicts are resolved, the South Caucasus will become an economically
developed region. Azerbaijan's position is well known. The joint
projects are out of the question till the conflicts are resolved."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. -
are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the
surrounding regions.
From: Baghdasarian