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Armenian army can't cope with Azerbaijan: MP

18 January 2013 10:17 (UTC+04:00)
Armenian army can't cope with Azerbaijan: MP

By Nigar Orujova

Armenia is unable to compete with Azerbaijan, an Azerbaijani parliament member said at a roundtable organized by the Association for Public Control over Armed Forces on Wednesday.

"Armenia is not capable of competing with Azerbaijan and in the event of hostilities will be clearly defeated," Aydin Mirzazadeh said.

According to Mirzazadeh, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said earlier in an interview that Armenia is not able to withstand Azerbaijan's growing defense potential and in the event of hostilities would turn to its allies.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in conflict for over two decades, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims in 1988. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory.

A ceasefire agreement was signed in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently brokering peace talks. However, the negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on a pullout of its occupying forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding regions.

Azerbaijani army in 2013

Some $3.7 billion, allocated for the Azerbaijani army in 2013, will be spent to purchase modern weapons and significantly strengthen the army's defense potential, according to Mirzazadeh.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev outlined key issues related to the army at a cabinet meeting held on Tuesday.

The president said Azerbaijan will continue to implement policies aimed at strengthening the material and technical capabilities of the military and bolstering the professionalism and discipline.

Soldier's death

Mirzazadeh regarded the recent death in the Azerbaijani army as a 'shocking tragedy'.

He said an investigation is underway into the death of army soldier Jeyhun Gubadov, 18, who was called up for military service in the Absheron region, in the Ministry of Defence military unit.

"I believe in its objectivity. The guilty will be punished. However, over the last ten days, some forces have tried to tarnish the name of the army. These people know nothing about the army and are using the case for their political interests," Mirzazadeh said.

Emin Hasanli, chairman of the Association which organized the roundtable, said the death of Jeyhun Gubadov was a shock to every citizen of Azerbaijan; it is not the loss of one family, but the loss of the nation as a whole. However, Hasanli said, even the world's best army is not insured against such incidents.

He said with regret that filthy campaigns are being pursued rather than trying to prevent reoccurence of such fatal incidents.

"Unfortunately, some forces are using the tragedy for political purposes and are trying to discredit the armed forces of Azerbaijan," Hasanli added.

Hasanli also noted that the army has been dynamically developing like all areas in Azerbaijan for many years.

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