Azerbaijan to build up military might until Karabakh problem is solved - president
BAKU. June 26 (Interfax) - Azerbaijan will continue to enlarge the output of military products and import newest weaponry until the final settlement of the Karabakh problem, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev said while inspecting a military parade dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the Azeri Armed Forces on Wednesday.
"We had a $163 million defense budget in 2003. The budget grew to $3.6 billion last year and it is $3.7 billion now. This is a proof that the Armed Forces development is a primary objective and the biggest budget allocations go to the army, which is only natural," the president said.
"For comparison, the entire budget of needy Armenia is only about $2 billion. Even our defense budget is twice bigger than Armenia's total spending," he remarked.
"Strong Azerbaijan can speak any language to weak Armenia. For now, we prefer negotiations in order to preserve regional stability, as Azerbaijan is the country stabilizing the region. Azerbaijan enjoys enormous authority in its region. Not a single regional initiative or project can come true without Azerbaijan's consent. For this reason, we so far prefer political ways to keep stability and to achieve a peaceful solution," he emphasized.
"But it is not a secret that Azerbaijan is growing stronger day after day while Armenia is weakening. The scope of growth of our economic might is beyond comparison. We outdo the enemy manifold in any sector or by more than ten times in particular fields. That gap will be growing further. Because we have a clear future, prospects and development ways," he added.
The president said he was certain that historical and political factors, international legal norms and the military-economic might would play a role in the fair settlement of the Armenian-Azeri conflict. "Azerbaijan will restore its territorial integrity in Karabakh and on other occupied lands. The Azeri flag will be flying in Khankendi (Stepanakert) and Shusha," he said.
