Interfax, Russia
Sept 4 2009

Azerbaijan Army ready to free occupied land – Defense Ministry

BAKU Sept 4

The Azerbaijani Army is ready to free the occupied territories if the
negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict fail,
said Azeri Defense Ministry spokesman Eldar Sabiroglu.

"We are hoping for results while the political negotiations
continue. Otherwise our army will fulfill its function [to free the
land] at a moment when our state founds it necessary," Sabiroglu told
a press conference in Baku on Friday.

"No one should doubt that," he said, adding that he is not saying
these words for the sake of propaganda. "I am saying this taking into
account the equipment of our military units with modern types of
weapons and the high level of our troops’ combat preparedness," he
said.

The Defense Ministry official reiterated that the Azerbaijani Army
will continue to be strengthened.