AZERBAIJAN MINISTRY OF DEFENSE: TRANSFER OF WEAPONS TO ARMENIA BY RUSSIA VIOLATES UN RESOLUTIONS ON GARABAGH CONFLICT

Azerbaijan Business Center
Jan 15 2009
Azerbaijan

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan
has published a statement in which it expresses concern on the fact
of transfer of Russian weapons worth $800 million to Armenia.

The Ministry informs that weapons transfer will create a possibility
for Armenia for strengthening its further occupation of Azerbaijani
territories.

"Weapons transfer is direct violation of resolutions passed
on Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict by the UN Security Council and
resolution named Situation on Occupied Territories of Azerbaijan,
adopted on 14 March 2008 in the UN General Assembly.

Speech here is off first of all about breach of Russian party’s
commitments on non-assistance to further strengthening of occupation
of our country’s lands," it was reported.

The MFA expresses special concern in connection with weapons transfer
issue amid Azerbaijan’s increasing hopes for friendship and relations
of close strategic co-operation between Russia and Azerbaijan and
the role of Russia as mediator in settlement of Garabagh conflict.

The Ministry considers that Russia undertakes special responsibility
on conflict settlement situation in the future.

The Azerbaijani MFA expresses protest to such moves helping in
strengthening occupation of Azerbaijani lands. Azerbaijan tries to
do its best to remove consequences of transfer of weapons by Russia,"
it was informed.

Earlier it was informed that the Russian Ministry of Defense denied
flatly the reports of the Azerbaijan media about alleged transfer of
$800 million weapons to Armenia. Russian mass media reports citing
Aleksandr Drobishevsky, a representative of the Russian Ministry
of Defense that the latter received an inquiry from Azerbaijan’s
Ministry of Defense relating to information on weapons supplies to
Armenia. Moscow’s official response will be ready in the near future.

On 12 January, Vasily Istratov, the Russian ambassador to Azerbaijan,
was invited to the Azerbaijani MFA to clarify veracity of information
on weapons transfer.

Istratov promised that the Russian party will clarify the matter.

The MFA of Azerbaijan has not received any response from Russia on
the occasion of its inquiry.

Over the last few days the news agencies disseminated information about
alleged transfer of weapons worth $800 million from Russia’s 102nd
military base located in the city of Gumri, Armenia, to the latter.