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ARMENIA ARMY PARADE MIRRORS THAT OF FOE AZERBAIJAN
By Hasmik Lazarian
Reuters AlertNet
Sept 21 2011
YEREVAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Armenia flexed its muscles on Wednesday
with the largest military parade since the Soviet collapse in a
display of might resembling that of rival Azerbaijan, which hosted
a similar show in June.
Troops marched across central Yerevan's Republic square along
with convoys of infantry combat vehicles and Russian-made S-300
anti-aircraft missile launchers as the country marked 20 years of
independence since the end of Soviet rule.
Armenia's neighbour Azerbaijan, with whom it had a military
conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave that killed 30,000, held
its largest military parade since the Soviet collapse on June 26 in
the Azeri capital Baku.
At that march, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev promised to boost army
spending and gain control of territories disputed with Armenia.
The mainly Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh broke away
from Muslim Azerbaijan with the backing of Christian Armenia as the
Soviet Union collapsed, and has since run its own affairs with heavy
financial and military support from Yerevan.
The last two years have seen the worst skirmishes since a 1994
ceasefire, raising fears of a return to full-blown conflict in the
South Caucasus, an important route for oil and gas supplies from the
Caspian region to Europe.
Armenia said there was no connection. "Our parade is not being held in
response to Azerbaijan's parade," said Armenian Defence Ministry
spokesman David Karapetyan.
"There is no competition," he added as warplanes, helicopters and
drones cruised above him, blowing out stripes of exhaust in the red,
blue and orange colours of the Armenian flag.
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan congratulated volunteers in the
war in Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s.
"Long live the people of Armenia, who went through fire and swords!"
Sarksyan told around four thousand troops. (Writing by Margarita
Antidze in Tbilisi; editing by Myra MacDonald)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/armenia-army-parade-mirrors-that-of-foe-azerbaijan
By Hasmik Lazarian
Reuters AlertNet
Sept 21 2011
YEREVAN, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Armenia flexed its muscles on Wednesday
with the largest military parade since the Soviet collapse in a
display of might resembling that of rival Azerbaijan, which hosted
a similar show in June.
Troops marched across central Yerevan's Republic square along
with convoys of infantry combat vehicles and Russian-made S-300
anti-aircraft missile launchers as the country marked 20 years of
independence since the end of Soviet rule.
Armenia's neighbour Azerbaijan, with whom it had a military
conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave that killed 30,000, held
its largest military parade since the Soviet collapse on June 26 in
the Azeri capital Baku.
At that march, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev promised to boost army
spending and gain control of territories disputed with Armenia.
The mainly Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh broke away
from Muslim Azerbaijan with the backing of Christian Armenia as the
Soviet Union collapsed, and has since run its own affairs with heavy
financial and military support from Yerevan.
The last two years have seen the worst skirmishes since a 1994
ceasefire, raising fears of a return to full-blown conflict in the
South Caucasus, an important route for oil and gas supplies from the
Caspian region to Europe.
Armenia said there was no connection. "Our parade is not being held in
response to Azerbaijan's parade," said Armenian Defence Ministry
spokesman David Karapetyan.
"There is no competition," he added as warplanes, helicopters and
drones cruised above him, blowing out stripes of exhaust in the red,
blue and orange colours of the Armenian flag.
Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan congratulated volunteers in the
war in Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s.
"Long live the people of Armenia, who went through fire and swords!"
Sarksyan told around four thousand troops. (Writing by Margarita
Antidze in Tbilisi; editing by Myra MacDonald)
http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/armenia-army-parade-mirrors-that-of-foe-azerbaijan