ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Nov 24 2006
ARMENIAN DEFENSE MINISTER AVOIDS CALLING ARMENIAN ARMED FORCES "THE
MOST COMBAT- EFFECTIVE" IN REGION
Serge Sargsyan, Secretary of the Armenian Presidential National
Security Council, Defense Minister, stated in an interview with the
Armenian Public Radio that he prefers avoiding the phrase "the most
combat-effective army in the region" when speaking of Armenia’s armed
forces.
Speaking of the region, one should not forget that besides Georgia
and Azerbaijan, there are also Iran and Turkey in the region, the
minister said. "I prefer saying that the Armenian army is an army
that has fulfilled its task. But for the fighting capacity of the
Armenian army, Azerbaijan would easily settle the Karabakh problem by
force in its favor," the minister said.
ARMENIAN DM: COUNTRY WHICH STARTS MILITARY ACTIONS WILL INEVITABLY
SUFFER CONSIDERABLE LOSSES
"One can not say that today there is no threat of military actions of
Armenia and Azerbaijan," Serge Sargsyan, Secretary of the Armenian
Presidential National Security Council, Defense Minister, stated in
an interview with the Armenian Public Radio.
He said a defense minister must always think that military actions
may start already tomorrow. "Nevertheless, I think that military
actions are unlikely to start in foreseeable future. First, the
Azerbaijani army is not ready for military actions now. Second, OSCE
Minsk Group Co-chairs will perceive the start of military actions by
Azerbaijan as a slap in the face. Third, the country which starts
military actions will inevitably suffer considerable losses. This,
first of all, concerns Azerbaijan," the minister said.