AZERBAIJAN ACCUSES RUSSIA OF ASSISTING ARMENIA TO OCCUPY AZERBAIJANI TERRITORY

WPS Agency
DEFENSE and SECURITY (Russia)
January 23, 2009 Friday
Russia

Ziyafet Askerov, Senior Deputy Chairman of the Milli Mejlis (parliament
of Azerbaijan), Chairman of the parliamentary Security and Defense
Commission, and Chairman of the Azerbaijani delegation at the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly, is convinced that Russia is asking for trouble
by arming Armenia.

Askerov said that the matter would be brought to attention of the
spring session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and added that
everything depended on confirmation (of the fact of arming Armenia –
Kavkazsky Uzel). "Our Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry are trying
to verify it now. Depending on their findings, we will bring up the
matter at the spring session," he said.

Azerbaijani newspaper Aina (Mirror) suggested three hypothesis
explaining Azerbaijan’s violent reaction to the news that Russia had
turned over some merchandise to Armenia. One hypothesis assumes that
Azerbaijan laid the hands on official documents proving transfer and
leaked the news to the media deliberately.

According to the second hypothesis, a leak to the media was arranged
by Western circles. According to the third, Russia itself leaked the
news to put Azerbaijan under political and military pressure.

On January 15, the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry issued a statement in
connection with appearance in the Internet of "documents proving that
$800 million worth of merchandise of the 102nd Russian Military Base
were turned over to Armenia". It accused Moscow of assisting Armenia
to occupy Azerbaijani territory.

Armenian experts point out that as a member of the CIS Collective
Security Treaty Organization, Armenia has contracts for procurement
of military hardware from Russia at a discount and that it has been
getting merchandise under legitimate Armenian-Russian agreements. They
say that Azerbaijan itself launched an arms race.