ARMENIA LEADER SAYS NO RETURN OF REBEL REGION TO AZERBAIJAN

Agence France Presse
April 16 2008

The president of the Caucasian republic of Armenia said Wednesday
neighbouring Azerbaijan must accept "once and for all" it would
not regain control over the Armenian-backed rebel region of Nagorny
Karabakh.

In his first major foreign policy speech since taking office this
month, Serzh Sarkisian struck a combative note and warned Azerbaijan
that its military had no hope of retaking the enclave.

"Azerbaijan must accept once and for all the reality that the existence
of an independent Nagorny Karabakh is irreversible," Sarkisian told
foreign ministry employees.

"It is impossible to even imagine that Karabakh could be subordinate
to Azerbaijan in any way," Sarkisian said.

"In Baku, they believe that through petrodollars they can overtake
us economically and eventually militarily," he said. "But it is not
only money that supports a country and achieves victories.

"An abundance of military hardware does not equal an efficient army."

Energy-rich Azerbaijan, which is flush with oil revenues and has
vowed to retake the disputed region, has hugely increased its military
budget in recent years.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced this week that the
country would double its defence spending this year to nearly two
billion dollars (1.26 billion euros).

Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenian forces took control of Nagorny
Karabakh during a war in the early 1990s that killed thousands and
forced nearly a million people on both sides to flee their homes.

A ceasefire was signed between the two former Soviet republics in
1994 but the dispute remains unresolved after more than a decade
of negotiations.

Troops remain in a tense stand-off and shootings are common. Up to
16 soldiers were killed in a clash last month.

Nagorny-Karabakh is a 4,400 square kilometres (1,699 sq miles)
enclave surrounded by Azerbaijan.