Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian says Azerbaijan's recent increases in military spending have not given it an advantage in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Radio Liberty’s Armenian Service reported.

Meeting with Yerevan State University students who will soon be drafted into the Armenian army, Ohanian said on Wednesday that Armenia are successfully "neutralizing" the Azerbaijani military's numerical superiority in weapons and personnel.

"We are maintaining the balance of forces vis-a-vis the Azerbaijani armed forces, not with quantitative data but by raising the qualitative standards of our armed forces," Ohanian said. "We are enhancing the combat readiness and fighting spirit of our armed forces."

He added that the Armenian side is also receiving "modern weaponry," though he did not elaborate.

The remarks came just days after President Serzh Sarkisian threatened that Azerbaijan will be dealt a "devastating and final" blow if it attempts to resolve the Karabakh conflict by force. Sarkisian issued the warning as he and Ohanian watched what officials called the biggest-ever exercises held by the "Karabakh Armenian army".

Armenian Public Television reported that the two-week maneuvers involved thousands of soldiers, hundreds of tanks and armored vehicles, as well as heavy artillery. It said the tanks and artillery systems fired more than 2,000 rounds, as troops simulated an counteroffensive against Azerbaijan.

Sarkisian said the exercises were held in response to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's frequent threats to reconquer Karabakh and Azerbaijani districts surrounding it.

Aliyev's government recently announced plans for another sharp rise in the Azerbaijani defense budget. It is projected to reach $3.1 billion next year, a sum exceeding Armenia's entire state budget. The Armenian government plans to spend only about $400 million on defense in 2011.

The spending gap is somewhat offset by Armenia's military alliance with Russia, which enables it to acquire Russian-made weapons at low prices or free of charge. A Russian-Armenian defense agreement signed in August commits Moscow to supplying Yerevan with "modern and compatible weaponry and special military hardware."