AZERBAIJAN STRENGTHENING ITS ARMED FORCES – DEFENSE MINISTER

Interfax
April 26 2010
Russia

Azerbaijan’s armed forces are in a position to carry out any task
set to them, the defense minister said on Friday.

"I want to say with a great sense of pride that Azerbaijan possesses
highly battle-ready and disciplined armed forces," Safar Abiyev told
a conference at his ministry.

Abiyev said restoring Azeri control over Nagorno-Karabakh, a
disputed Armenian-speaking enclave in Azerbaijan that is currently
the occupation of neighboring Armenia, is the main purpose of measures
over the past few years to strengthen the Azeri armed forces.

He said the military is always ready to carry out any presidential
order.

The minister said Azerbaijan had bought various cutting-edge weapons
for its armed forces, including artillery systems and aircraft.

"With new armaments systems having been bought and put into service,
our armed forces are capable of hitting targets throughout the
territory of Armenia," he said.

Abiyev said Azerbaijan’s armed forces had received weapons worth a
total of about $1 billion by the end of 2009.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress