Russian military withdrawal plan to Armenia angers Azerbaijan
Agence France Presse — English
May 20, 2005 Friday 2:14 PM GMT
BAKU May 20 — A proposal announced by Russia’s top brass to move
arms from controversial military bases in the former Soviet republic
of Georgia to Moscow’s regional ally Armenia angered officials in
neighbouring Azerbaijan on Friday.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said Russia had previously moved
weaponry from Georgia to Armenia, which was involved in a bitter war
with Azerbaijan over the Nagorny-Karabakh territory in the early 1990s.
“We are seriously concerned and we would not want Russia to take such
a step now,” he told journalists.
Russia’s military chief of staff, General Yury Baluyevsky, said
Thursday that moving armaments from Georgia to Armenia could help
speed Russia’s withdrawal from a republic that has become increasingly
hostile to its presence.
However, Azerbaijan is technically still at war with Armenia over
Nagorny Karabakh, which forces loyal to Yerevan have occupied since
1994.
“The situation in the region is very sensitive, the atmosphere of
security and stability must be taken into consideration,” Azimov said.
Russia has military bases in both Georgia and Armenia but Georgia
has demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian forces from its
territory, as Western influence there and in Azerbaijan increases at
Moscow’s expense.
Azerbaijan and especially Georgia have received considerable military
aid from the United States and NATO in the past few years and both
countries form a key link in a US-backed energy corridor spanning
Turkey and Central Asia.