AZERBAIJAN’S DEFENSE BUDGET REACHES $3.6 BLN – ALIYEV

Interfax
June 25 2012
Russia

Azerbaijan’s military might enables it to liberate the
Armenian-occupied territories at any moment, Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev said on Monday.

“We have every capability to restore our territorial integrity and
the latest events on the frontline are further proof of that. All
of Armenia’s provocations were curbed, the occupational forces
received a worthy response,” Aliyev said in his speech to graduates
of special-task military schools.

“I am confident that the international community and countries
mediating in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict realize that Armenia is
unable to resist Azerbaijan,” he said.

The Azeri army is the strongest in the region and one of the strongest
in the world, Aliyev said. “Our military spending has increased by
more than 20 times in the past few years to $3.6 billion, which is
half of Armenia’s total spending”.

Aliyev underlined the stabilizing role of the Azeri Armed Forces in
the region and vowed to further strengthen them, saying that the
army was a key factor in achieving a fair solution to the dispute
over Nagorno-Karabakh.

The president voiced hope that the Azeri flag would soon wave over
Shusha and other cities of Nagorno-Karabakh.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress