Azerbaijan's transparent armament moves against Armenia's alleged accusations
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
The military equipment at the disposal of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces is replenished in accordance with the requirements and obligations shown in the documents signed by the Azerbaijani authorities within the cooperation with international structures, the Defense Ministry reported.
The ministry's statement came as a response to Armenia's allegations which called Azerbaijan's intensive armament "excessive" and "a threat to regional security".
The ministry confirmed that equipping the Azerbaijani Armed Forces with modern combat tanks, armored vehicles, artillery complexes, fighting jets and helicopters, as well as attracting specialists to all military spheres has been essential for the army's combat readiness, and it has led to Armenia feeling threatened - especially in view of Azerbaijan's occupied territories.
"The purchase of all new military equipment has been realized absolutely transparently. In parallel to the acquisition of new equipment, specialists from various countries have inspected the Azerbaijani Armed Forces’ weapon arsenal," the ministry said.
According to the ministry, about 109 inspections took place within the armed forces by late 2014, while 55 inspections and 27 assessment missions were organized under the Vienna Document 2011.
The Vienna Document is an agreement between the participating states of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe implementing confidence and security building measures.
"We are not surprised - Armenian officials, whether in the military or the political spheres have periodically accused Azerbaijan of violating the requirements of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Regulation measures for distributing the rights and obligations of the former Soviet Union on TCAFE is set by the Agreement on Principles and Order of Implementing the TCAFE (signed in Tashkent on May 15, 1992)," the ministry said.
"But it is Armenia which defies the norms of international law and control on the armament. Armenia particularly violates the TCAFE requirements and illegally purchases weapons and deploys it on the occupied Azerbaijani territories. This armament is not registered and is kept out of the control of the international inspection groups. It is a great threat not only for Azerbaijan, but also for regional and European security. At the same time, it makes a good ground for the international community to impose severe sanctions on Armenia," the ministry noted.
Armenia and its patrons have repeatedly talked about the excessive armament of Azerbaijan, calling it a gross violation of TCAFE terms, which is supported officially by Baku.
Azerbaijani authorities periodically announce that increasing military capabilities is of great importance for the country amid the ongoing conflict with Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory was turned into a battlefield and zone of aggravated tensions after Armenia sent its troops to occupy Azerbaijan's lands in the early 1990s. As a result, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory stands under military occupation of Armenia.
Finance Minister Samir Sharifov earlier said that Azerbaijani Armed Forces need better equipment as Armenia continues its occupation policy in defiance of international law and announced that in 2015 Azerbaijan’s defense budget would increase by 27 percent to $4.8 billion, which is 17.9 per cent of the government’s budget expenditures, exceeding Armenia’s total budget of $3.2 billion.
The Azerbaijani authorities believe that, at a time when Armenia is taking no heed of norms and principles of international law, and continues its occupation policy and provocations along the line of contact, there is no need for extra justification when it comes to improving supplies to its armed forces.
Yerevan claims that Azerbaijan receives "new weapons" in abundance from Russia and Turkey to organize alleged "reconnaissance and sabotage actions", to kill Armenian servicemen until their number reaches a "critical point". However, the August skirmishes last year, which killed more than 20 servicemen on both sides, were the very result of Armenian forces' deliberate and planned sabotage incursions into Azerbaijani lands.
Exposing Armenian leaders' fallacious accusations against Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry released a statement averring that Armenia was continuing to strengthen its military presence and capabilities on Azerbaijan's occupied territories, noting that on November 6, Armenia held provocative large-scale military exercises on the occupied territories involving nearly 47,000 troops (according to Armenian media).
True to Armenia's belligerent nature, a Mi-24 attacking helicopter of the Armenian army violated Azerbaijan's airspace and was subsequently knocked down by the Azerbaijani forces on November 12.
In the aftermath of the military exercises and helicopter incident, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry erupted severely at Armenia's provocative moves, stating that "if Armenia once again resorts to military operations, the Azerbaijani armed forces’ immediate strike to the invaders will be extremely effective and destructive, leading to heavy losses and destruction that they will not forgot for a long time".
The Azerbaijani Armed Forces are capable and stand ready to prevent any provocation by the enemy, added the ministry.
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