The Messenger, Georgia
June 21 2005
Russians reassure Azerbaijan over base withdrawal
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Russian TV Vesti
Nedeli that Russia has managed to dispel concerns that Azerbaijan had
held over the deployment of Russian military equipment from Georgia
to Armenia.
“We have explained to our Azeri friends that the property and
equipment will be deployed on the territory of the Russian military
base,” he added, “so there will be no change in the balance of forces
in the region.”
Azeri President Ilkham Alyev said: “We understand that the weapons
are to be transported to the Russian military base and that they will
not be handed over to the Armenian Armed Forces.”
However, he added that Azerbaijan was still going to increase
military spending by up to USD 70 million by the end of the year, as
cited by Black Sea Press.