Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Azerbaijan boosts army spending as Armenia tensions soar

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Azerbaijan boosts army spending as Armenia tensions soar

    Agence France Presse
    November 28, 2014 Friday 12:49 PM GMT

    Azerbaijan boosts army spending as Armenia tensions soar

    BAKU, Nov 28 2014


    Azerbaijan's parliament on Friday approved a 2015 budget that sharply
    boosted military spending in apparent response to rising tensions with
    neighbour Armenia over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.

    The oil-rich Caucasus country's defence outlays will rise by 8.6
    percent to more than 1.78 billion Azerbaijani manats ($2.3 billion,
    1.8 billion euros).

    The budget also expects the economy to expand by 3.6 percent this year
    and 4.4 percent in 2015.

    Azerbaijan is locked in a long-simmering conflict with Armenia over Karabakh.

    Ethnic Armenian separatists backed by Yerevan had seized control of
    the territory during a 1990s war that left some 30,000 dead, and no
    peace deal has yet been signed.

    An unprecedented spat of violence has erupted this year with the
    arch-foes' forces regularly exchanging fire across their border and
    along the Karabakh frontline, sparking fears of a major escalation in
    the conflict.

    Baku, whose military spending exceeds Armenia's entire state budget,
    has threatened to take back the region by force if negotiations fail
    to yield results. Armenia, which is heavily armed by Russia, says it
    could crush any offensive.

    eg-im/hmn

Working...
X