AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA TRADE ACCUSATIONS ON BREACH OF CFE TREATY

Turan news agency
July 17 2008

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has dismissed as "totally groundless"
Armenian accusations that Baku has breached the Treaty on Conventional
Armed Forces in Europe (CFE), Turan news agency has reported.

The ministry spokesman, Xazar Ibrahim, was quoted as saying that
Yerevan itself has violated the treaty by deploying military hardware
in Azerbaijani territories seized by Armenian forces in the 1990s.

"The accusation… is totally groundless," Ibrahim told Turan. "On
the contrary, Armenia itself is violating the CFE. This country has
deployed over 300 tanks and armoured vehicles in Azerbaijan’s occupied
territories, whereas, under the CFE quota, it can have no more than
220 tanks and armoured vehicles in its possession."

Armenian Foreign Minister Edvard Nalbandyan had earlier accused
Azerbaijan of "publicly" violating the agreement. At a meeting in the
US Congress, Nalbandyan complained that the international community
was not paying due attention to the alleged breach of the CFE by
Azerbaijan, Arminfo news agency reported on 16 July.