AZERI ENVOY CONCERNED ABOUT RUSSIAN-ARMENIAN MILITARY TIES

Trend news agency, Baku
14 Aug 04

BAKU

Trend correspondent E. Huseynov: The OSCE Minsk Group, of which Russia
is a co-chairman, should take a stricter position on a peaceful
settlement to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict and clearly and loudly
announce that the territory is under occupation, Trend news agency has
quoted the Azerbaijani ambassador to Russia, Ramiz Rizayev, as saying.

(Passage omitted: reported details)

Voicing Baku’s concern about Moscow’s rapprochement with Yerevan in
the military field, Rizayev noted that it was particularly distressing
against the backdrop of the still unresolved conflict in Nagornyy
Karabakh.

“We know that many Armenians served and are continuing to serve in
Russia’s military units. This factor has had an exclusively negative
impact on the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict…(ellipses as published)

Suffice it to say that the 366th regiment of the Soviet army, over 70
per cent of whose servicemen were Armenians, was involved in the
bloody events in Xocali (Azeri-populated Karabakh town which was
seized by Armenians in February 1992). The issue of the illegal
handover to Armenia of Russian arms worth over 1bn dollars is also
still unresolved. But we do hope that the current leadership of Russia
will finally show wisdom in this vital issue and these problems, which
we have inherited from the past, will be resolved,” he said.

Asked about the possibility of Azerbaijan’s admission to NATO, the
diplomat said: “We do not see any need to join any military bloc or
organization.”