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BAKU: Azeri leader attacks Armenia, vows continued military build-up

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  • BAKU: Azeri leader attacks Armenia, vows continued military build-up

    Azartac news agency, Azerbaijan
    Dec 31 2007


    AZERI LEADER ATTACKS ARMENIA, VOWS CONTINUED MILITARY BUILD-UP


    Azerbaijan's president has blamed Armenia for the failure to end the
    long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries.

    In a New Year address to the nation, carried by the state-run news
    agency Azartac, Ilham Aliyev said that the conflict could not be
    resolved in the outgoing year due to Armenia's "non-constructive"
    position.

    "I regret to say that Armenia's non-constructive position and
    occupation policy prevented us from resolving this issue in 2007,"
    Aliyev said.

    The president stressed that the predominantly ethnic
    Armenian-populated region of Nagornyy Karabakh, which broke away from
    Azerbaijan following a separatist war in the early 1990s, would never
    be granted independence.

    "We will never make a concession on our territorial integrity.
    Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is inviolable," President Aliyev
    said. "Nagornyy Karabakh will never be granted independence. Neither
    Azerbaijan's leadership, nor its people would agree to this, and the
    international community would never recognize Nagornyy Karabakh's
    independence."

    Aliyev dismissed Armenian statements that Azerbaijan has agreed to
    holding a referendum in Nagornyy Karabakh to define the region's
    final political status.

    "We will never allow [Armenians] to establish a second Armenian state
    on Azerbaijani territory. If the Armenians living in Nagornyy
    Karabakh want to determine their future, they should do so either
    within Azerbaijani borders or leave Nagornyy Karabakh and build a
    second state for themselves anywhere else," Aliyev said.

    Military spending

    President Aliyev expressed commitment to peace talks mediated by the
    USA, Russia and France, saying that Azerbaijan still hopes to find a
    diplomatic solution to the conflict. At the same time, the president
    said, Azerbaijan is building a strong army and a defence industry to
    regain control of Nagornyy Karabakh and the surrounding occupied
    territories by force if peace talks fail. He said Azerbaijan's
    military spending would amount to at least 1.2bn dollars next year.

    "We are buying new weapons and equipment. We are raising the
    professionalism of our army. We have established a defence industry,
    which has already started producing weapons and ammunition necessary
    for our army," Aliyev said.

    The president also praised Azerbaijan's economic performance over the
    past three years, saying that the economy has seen an "unprecedented"
    economic growth during these years. The country's gross domestic
    product (GDP) grew by 26 per cent in 2005, 35 per cent in 2006 and 25
    per cent in 2007, Aliyev said, adding that Azerbaijan's budget
    spending has increased tenfold since he was elected president in
    2003.

    "Azerbaijan's consolidated budget will amount to 12bn dollars [in
    2008]. This is a very big number which will enable us to successfully
    implement all tasks set for the country," he said.

    [translated]
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