AZERI DEFENSE MINISTER REFUTES REPORTS ABOUT ARMENIAN PRESENCE IN
GABALA RADAR STATION
ArmenPress
May 31 2004
BAKU, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS: Azerbaijani defense minister Safar Abiyev has
officially dismissed media ruckus that Russian citizens of Armenian
origin were serving at Gabala Radar Station, leased by Russia in
Azerbaijan. The minister said 35 Armenians, ostensibly serving at the
station, are in fact Ukrainians and Udins (a Caucasian ethnic group
speaking a language of their own and representing the remnant of a
very early Christian community in Azerbaijan that traces its roots
back to the 4th century Caucasus Albanian Church) whose surnames end
in “yan”, like those of Armenians. Over the centuries, the Udins
have been equated with Armenians but, in reality, they are one of
the distinct ethnic groups.
The Gabala radar station has a significant place in the Russian
Federation’s air defense and early warning systems. The station is
also directly linked to the “nuclear suitcase” of the president.
Gabala Radar Station, which was installed to determine the ballistics
missiles between continents, has the capacity to determine every move
in the southern hemisphere.
