The Messenger, Georgia
March 23 2006
Azeri military budget aspires to reach Armenian state budget
By M. Alkhazashvili
The second convention of Azeri People was held in Baku on March 16.
The convention, which drew Azeris from all over the world, included a
speech by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev, who described an
expanding Azeri military force amid a USD 600 million military budget
for 2006.
“I set as a goal to equalize the Azeri military budget with the whole
Armenian state budget in the near future. Armenia will never be able
to compete with us. Earlier the Armenian leaders consider the fact it
will be better for them,” said President Aliev the news agency Regnum
reports.
The President also spoke about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, blaming
Armenia for the lack of progress over the past 12 years of
negotiations. Azerbaijan is ready for progress, the President stated,
but if Armenia appears to be treating the negotiations as a mere
simulation, then Baku will walk away.
If a new phase of this arms race develops, then Armenia could have
difficulty keeping up. Starting April 10, the price of natural gas
will rise 52.5 percent for the Armenian population and 85.2 percent
for Armenian enterprises.
This spike in prices followed a near doubling of natural gas prices
from Russia, which raised the cost of 1,000 cubic meters from USD 65
to USD 110.
Although Russia and Armenia are still negotiating the price of the
natural gas tariff, a final agreement is expected by March 28-29. The
Armenian side hopes for an USD 80 reduction of the tariff, Regnum
reports.
In a letter to President Putin of Russia and reprinted by Regnum,
Manuk Gasparian of the Armenian National Council explained that
“increasing natural gas price is the political decision,” since it
remains unchanged for Belarus, but is being doubled for the Russian
ally Armenia.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
