BAKU RELUCTANT TO COOPERATE WITH YEREVAN UNTIL IT PULLS OUT FROM KARABAKH

Interfax
Russia & CIS Military Newswire
February 5, 2008 Tuesday 2:31 PM MSK
Baku

Azerbaijan will not cooperate with Armenia until it withdraws its
forces from the occupied Azerbaijan’s lands, Azeri President Ilham
Aliyev said on Tuesday.

"Azerbaijan’s stance is that no cooperation is and will ever be
possible with the aggressor state until the occupied territories are
freed," Aliyev said, while receiving the Person of the Year Award
established by the private Azeri television channel, ANS.

"We are mobilizing all possibilities for freeing our lands from the
occupants," the president said. The work done on the army build-up
has quickly brought its first fruit, he said.

"We are paying great attention to this issue [army build-up]. The
annual growth of the military budget, the release of the first products
and creation of the military industry are vital for our future plans,"
the Azeri president said.

"For now, Azerbaijan has to hold peace talks because we still have
hopes," he said.

"But the whole Azeri nation knows how difficult it is to put up with
this situation. We must be strong. A strong economy, a strong army
and a strong military potential will resolve the issue in our favor,
and we already see the initial signs of it," the president said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress