AIMING AT KARABAKH;
AZERBAIJAN CONDUCTS MILITARY EXERCISES FOR LIBERATION OF OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
Agency WPS
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
August 7, 2006 Monday
by Sokhbet Mamedov
AZERBAIJAN: ANTITERRORIST EXERCISES OR TESTING OF A FORCEFUL SOLUTION
FOR THE KARABAKH PROBLEM?; Exercises for checking combat training
of the Interior Forces of the Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan were
held in the Khyzinsky District of the country having relief similar
to relief of the problematic Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Exercises for checking combat training of the Interior Forces of the
Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan were held in the Khyzinsky District
of the country having relief similar to relief of the problematic
Nagorno-Karabakh region. Such exercises are organized periodically
but the latest exercises differ from the previous ones. First,
together with an operation for neutralization of terrorists the troops
stormed a mountain height defended by a conventional enemy. Second,
the exercises were organized for the first time in the newly built
training center in the north of the country and reminded rather of a
military operation for taking an enemy’s position. Interestingly,
Azerbaijani Interior Minister Ramil Usubov who had been born in
Nagorno-Karabakh watched the exercises.
Meanwhile, the press service of the Interior Ministry advised
journalists to focus attention on these circumstances and rejected
any connection with the choice of the place for the exercises and
with participation of servicemen of the Interior Ministry in possible
combat operations in Nagorno-Karabakh.
According to analyst Alpay Akhmed, it is necessary to take conduction
of such exercises with understanding. Armed Forces and Interior
Forces of the country that has 20% of the territory "occupied by
the neighboring country" should be prepared to liberate the occupied
territories any time. Moreover, so that official Baku does not rule
out a military way for resolving the drawn out conflict with Armenia
about Nagorno-Karabakh and is building up its military potential.
Incidentally, recently President of Azerbaijan Ilkham Aliyev announced
that the budget of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan would be increased
by $100 million to $700 million.
Interestingly, the exercises were conducted immediately after
departure of the American co-chair of the Minsk group of OSCE for
regulation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict from Baku. There
the co-chair held meetings with the Interior Ministry and with the
President of Azerbaijan, after which he announced that chances for
resolving the conflict in the first half of 2007, were sufficiently
high. Earlier, intermediaries announced an intention to solve this
problem in 2006. Now they postpone the deadline for six months, which
shows that they fail to move positions of the conflicting parties
closer. In such circumstances official Baku has nothing else left
besides buildup of its military potential and to turn to a forceful
solution of the problem in case of failure of peace talks.
Source: Nezavisimaya Gazeta, August 04, 2006, p. 6
Translated by Pavel Pushkin