Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

As of January 2016, the manat account of Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces Relief Fund amounted to 69.847.993,83 manats, and the dollar account - $211,792, the euro account – 1793.69 euros, the Defense Ministry reported on January 5.

The Armed Forces Relief Fund was created by presidential decree on August 17, 2002. The relief fund for the armed forces is formed by the voluntary contributions of individuals and entities operating in Azerbaijan and other revenue not prohibited by law, the decree said.

As the development of the military sector is under special focus in Azerbaijan, a country that remains in a state of war with Armenia, the government increases efforts on empowering the armed forces.

Alongside with solving social problems of the military personnel, providing the army with sophisticated weapons and equipment and etc. the funds that are allocated to the armed forces increased.

Today, the Azerbaijani Army is one of the strongest, most highly-disciplined armies in the world and the leading in the region. It is equipped with new high-quality weapons made by domestic and foreign military-industrial systems.

Azerbaijan's military expenditure has increased rapidly in recent years. Azerbaijan’s military budget for 2015 was $5 billion, which is considerably more than previous year's $3.8 billion in military expenditures. The country's military budget exceeds the overall state budget of occupant Armenia by $2 billion.

Azerbaijan's military build-up is in line with the country's legal right to liberate its occupied lands by means of war, should it be necessary.

Country's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory turned into a conflict zone following Armenia's aggression in the early 1990s. As a result of an armed invasion, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory fell under Armenian occupation. Nonetheless, the OSCE has attempted to foster a peaceful resolution to this conflict amid Armenia's persistent derailment.

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