Karabakh defence minister downplays Azeri combat readiness

Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan
27 Jan 05

STEPANAKERT

“Based on the intelligence information of the Nagornyy Karabakh
republic’s defence army, as well as regular monitoring on the contact
line, one can say with a great deal of confidence that Azerbaijan is
not capable of resolving any issue militarily,” the defence minister
of the Nagornyy Karabakh republic, Seyran Oganyan, told a news
conference on 26 January when asked about Azerbaijan’s belligerent
rhetoric.

At the same time, he acknowledged that such statements are indeed
worrying.

With regard to the arrival of an OSCE monitoring group in the region,
he said: “We treat this mission quite normally.”

As far as agricultural work on the territories controlled by the
defence army is concerned, the minister said the army could not hamper
the population in this and could only help farmers with it.