Azerbaijan will increase defense spending from the current 3.8 billion dollars to 4.8 billion dollars, that is, by slightly more than a quarter, the country’s Finance Minister Samir Sharifov said when presenting the budget bill for 2015 on November 19. The minister said the increase was due to the actions of Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh, as it “keeps up the occupation policy and provocations in the conflict zone,” BBC reports.
It should be noted that Ukraine supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and stresses the need to resolve dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh by peaceful, diplomatic means.
Let us recall that relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia sharply deteriorated after the November 12 incident, when Azerbaijani soldiers shot down a helicopter belonging to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic which violated the airspace of Azerbaijan.
The military build-up now underway in Azerbaijan is confirmed by operational and tactical exercises held by its navy and air force lately. As the press service of the Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan reports, they involved more than 500 personnel, over 40 warships and boats, about 20 combat aircraft and helicopters of the country’s air force, and about 50 air defense weapons, including those used by special forces. The active phase of the exercises saw live firing of all weapons, the report says.
The Day asked Azerbaijani journalist Farid Kahramanov to comment on the increase in the military budget and its implications for the position of Armenia on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.
“This increase in military capabilities has to do primarily with the Karabakh conflict and the ongoing occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory. The government of a partially-occupied country has to think about strengthening its military capabilities, despite continuing peace talks. Azerbaijan is preparing to try other solutions of this issue as well, given the fact that it has been almost 25 years since the peace process started, and it has not brought any tangible results. The country’s budget, its resources and oil and gas revenues make such measures affordable.
“The ancients said: ‘If you want peace, prepare for war.’ The strengthening military potential of Azerbaijan along with the economic weakening of our Armenian enemy creates an imbalance that may lead to more conciliatory approach from Armenia at some stage. It is already suffering region-wide isolation, and the capability gap will increase as long as Armenia continues to occupy Azerbaijani territories.
“Any increases in Armenia’s military spending will not change the fact that military appropriations of Azerbaijan exceed the total budget of Armenia. However, it has an ally in Russia, a fellow member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. Still, Azerbaijan buys new weapons as well and increases its potential. Our country will not sit back and wait, because pressure is the only way to get the aggressor to agree to the peace process and settlement.”
