Noyan Tapan News Agency
Sept 19 2005
ALEXANDER ISKANDARIAN: STATEMENTS OF AZERI AUTHORITIES ABOUT INCREASE
IN MILITARY BUDGET ARE MADE INTENTIONALLY ON THRESHOLD OF ELECTIONS
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 19, NOYAN TAPAN. “I think that the military budget
of Azerbaijan doesn’t pose any danger for us. It’s quite obvious that
its increase isn’t aimed at war with us,” Alexander Iskandarian,
Director of Caucasian Media Institute, declared in his interview to
Noyan Tapan’s correspondent, answering the question, how Azerbaijan’s
military budget amounting to 600 mln USD will go with the agreement
“On Reduction of Conventional Armament in Europe.”
Quite recently Azeri President Ilham Aliyev declared that Azerbaijan
intends to increase its military budget up to the level of Armenia’s
total budget. In particular, Aliyev emphasized that Azerbaijan lives
in conditions of a war, that’s why its attention to the army must be
at the highest level. Namely, Azerbaijan’s 2006 budget envisages to
increase expenditures on defence up to 600 mln USD instead of 300 mln
USD allocated for the current year.
Alexander Iskandarian doubted of adoption of the budget in the
above-mentioned amount. “If it is even adopted, obviously, a
considerable part from this money, if not the most part, will be
lootted.”
Besides, according to him, military budget isn’t an exactly defined
notion, it may include both expenditures on buying of rubber arms and
shields for dispersal of demonstrations and on training of servicemen
in the West or construction of cantonments. At the same time,
Alexander Iskandarian didn’t exclude that Azerbaijan can spend money
on armament, as well. “It’s clear that all these quotas on armament
aren’t observed well by not only Azerbaijan but by averybody around.”
A.Iskandarian mentioned that such statements made by Azeri
authorities quite fit into the logic of the forthcoming parliamentary
elections. “They have great problems with power’s consolidation. The
use of these threatening anti-Armenian statements in the internal
rhetoric is an instrument, which was worked through very well for the
home policy and is always used by them.”
Armenia as a country-winner, in which the society and political
forces with a very small exception are consolidated in the issue of
Karabakh conflict settlement, doesn’t need using such instruments,
the Director of Caucasian Media Institute emphasized.