Baku, July 14, AZERTAC

“Armenia cannot compete with Azerbaijan in terms of economic, demographic and military potential,” said Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov in an interview with RIA Novosti news agency.

Hasanov emphasized that Azerbaijan strengthens every year from economic, demographic and military points of view. He said that despite global economic and financial crisis, Azerbaijan increases its military budget on a yearly basis.

“This year the growth is about 20 per cent. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Commander-in-Chief Ilham Aliyev attaches great importance to strengthening the army and supplying it with state-of-the-art weapons. We have reached a qualitatively new level in army building. We are now challenged to further modernize and strengthen our army,” Minister Hasanov added.