The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, yesterday made a wide-ranging speech to the Cabinet of Ministers in which he touched on domestic and foreign policy issues, and also made a rare referencve to his country's policy on defence procurement
In a defiant reference to the Karabakh conflict the President said "At all international events I have spoken about the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh and exposed Armenia's policy of aggression. I will continue to expose it at all international events. Our principled position on the settlement of the conflict remains unchanged. The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must be restored unconditionally, the occupying forces must withdraw from our land. The internationally recognized territorial integrity of our country will be fully restored. I have no doubt about that. We are growing stronger both economically and internationally."
The President also made a rare reference to the policies that Azerbaijan is pursuing with regards to its defence procurement. The President said "Our military capacity is also growing. This area is and will always be in the focus. We are creating a powerful military industry. At the same time, we buy and will continue to buy large volumes of military equipment, weapons and ammunition. Not to mention anti-aircraft guns. We are and will be buying tanks, artillery units, combat aircraft, weaponry, all modern equipment needed for combat. I can say that, as in other areas, we are pursuing a diversified policy in this area too, we don't rely only on one producer. A growing number of countries want to cooperate with us and we have the opportunities for that. Unlike some other countries, we don't get anything for free, we buy everything, and this policy will be continued."
The statement came on the same day that the respected Swedish think-tank, SIPRI, reported that Azerbaijan's increased in military spending in 2011 by 87%, making it the highest in the world.
President Aliev said in his speech "Azerbaijan already has a strong army. All the armed forces are ready and capable of fulfilling any task in the interests of our country. They are ready to restore Azerbaijan's sovereignty over Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied lands. We simply want to do this without bloodshed, by peaceful means, through talks, and every minute and every day brings us closer to victory. Armenia is plunging into a deep recession, while Azerbaijan is growing stronger. Victory day is nearing us. The day will come when the Azerbaijani flag will fly in Khankandi and Shusha."
On foreign policy, Aliev said that in the first quarter of the year there were "very interesting and serious discussions concerning Azerbaijan in the international arena. As a respectable member of the international community, our country has and will continue to have a say. Our foreign policy is a logical continuation of the internal one. Our foreign policy is aimed at deepening cooperation. We are taking steps in that direction. Our foreign policy is open, clear and unambiguous. Our role in the region and the world is growing. This must be reckoned with."
There has already been a sharp reaction to the speech in Armenia. Vice Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Eduard Sharmazanov commented on the statement made by the Azerbaijani leader that a day will come when the Azerbaijani flag will fly in Stepanakert and Shusha.
Sharmanazov said “First of all, Azerbaijan should stop the weapon race and military rhetoric. Secondly, it should prepare its society not for war but peace. Thirdly, if Aliyev wants to see the Azerbaijani flag in Stepanakert very much there is only one way to do that – to establish diplomatic relations with the independent Republic of Artsakh and as a result, the flag of the Republic of Artsakh will raise over the building of the NKR Embassy to Baku and the flag of neighboring Azerbaijan will raise over the building of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the NKR capital Stepanakert”.
Commonspace.eu political editor said in a comment: "This was a a robust statement by the Azerbaijani leader in which, although he was saying nothing new as such, he has reflected the growing confidence that has been noticed in Azerbaijani diplomacy in the last year or so. There was little or no hint of any progress in the peace negotiations on Karabakh or even a reference to the OSCE Minsk Process. It leaves wide open the speculation that has been going on in recent years and months on Azerbaijan's intentions in this regard. Nothing much will happen in the next six weeks - Armenia is busy with elections and Azerbaijan with Eurovision, but this speech perhaps gives the first signs of where things will be going in the future."
source: commonspace.eu with the Press Service of the president of Azerbaijan and agencies
picture: Azerbaijani tanks during a military parade in Baku in 2011 (archive picture)
