Defense Minister: Baku hopes to seize Karabakh by blackmailing OSCE MGAugust 20, 2014 - 13:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Despite Azerbaijan’s requesting Russia to mediate ceasefire 20 years ago, its recent sabotage attempts at the line of contact prove Baku’s main goal is to gain control over Karabakh, the republic’s Defense Minister and Defense Army Commander Movses Hakobyan stated. According to the official, Azerbaijan still hopes to seize Karabakh by blackmailing the OSCE Minsk Group. “Baku has absurd territorial claims to Zangezur and Yerevan. As the last 20 years showed, Azerbaijan keeps avoiding the MG-suggested proposals for peaceful settlement.” As the Minister further noted, Baku’s petrodollars bought it major amounts of armament – a proof of country’s intention to renew a war in Karabakh. “Even the arms ratio of 2 to 1 between Azeri and Armenian sides is not a guarantee of Baku’s victory, the latter having lost the war in the nineties despite a 20 to 1 prevalence. “The army’s goal is to be permanently combat-ready, with NKR continuing military training and modernization of its arsenal,” Armenia Today quoted the official as saying. The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. Freedom House concerned by mounting reports of police violence in Armenia Freedom House urged Armenian authorities to investigate this pattern of excessive force and inhumane treatment. CSTO recognizes Armenia’s sovereign right to withdraw Tasmagambetov has said that if Armenia decides to leave the organization, “it will be the sovereign right of Armenia.” |