AZERBAIJANI CRITICIZE ARMENIA FOR ACCUSING AZERBAIJAN OF VIOLATING ARMAMENT LIMITS
TREND News Agency, Azerbaijan
Nov 30 2007
Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend corr. S.Agayeva / Azerbaijani military
experts have criticized Armenia for accusing Azerbaijan of violating
the armament limits.
"Armenia has been purchasing armaments from Russia and China in
recent years. Armenia is therefore accusing Azerbaijan in order to
draw the attention of international communities away from Armenia,"
Useir Jafarov, an independent expert of Azerbaijan, said in the
interview to Trend agency.
The Armenian Defense Minister Vardan Oskanian blamed Azerbaijan for
violating the armament limits during the annual meeting of the OSCE
Council of Ministers in Madrid.
International organizations have no reason to accuse Azerbaijan
for illegal dealings of armaments, Jafarov said. "The statements by
Armenia concerning Azerbaijan have no foundation," Azerbaijani military
expert Alakpar Mammadov said. Azerbaijan, as an independent country
and a country which has a territorial conflict, should strengthen
its defense system, the expert said.
" Azerbaijan did not undertake steps to violate the DOVSE agreement,
and international organizations have not made such claims on this
issue," Eldar Sabiroglu, the head of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry’s
press-service reported to Trend agency.
The Azerbaijani Defense Minister Elmar Mammadyarov described the
statements by Oskanian as unfounded.
The agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia stated that the
quantity of armaments of both countries were to be equal. However,
as Azerbaijan’s population exceeds that of Armenia, we have fulfilled
our obligations honestly," Sabiroglu said.
The DOVSE agreement was signed in Paris on 19 November 1990 and came
into force on 9 November 1992. Azerbaijan signed the agreement after
gaining independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
DOVSE is aimed at providing security and stability in the military
forces of Europe, abolishing inequality which damages stability and
security and is also aimed at preventing the launch of large-scale
attacks on Europe.