Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 16 / Trend, E. Mehdiyev /
Armenia is not capable of competing with Azerbaijan and in the event of hostilities, will be clearly defeated, member of parliment Aydin Mirzazade said at a "round table" titled "The army, media and public relations today" organized by the Association for Public Control Over the Armed Forces.
This year, $ 3.7 billion were allocated for the army. These funds will be used for purchasing modern weapons, strengthening the army's defensive potentialities, etc. Azerbaijan will maximize its defensive potential, Mirzazade said.
"As it is known, yesterday in his speech at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on the outcomes of socio-economic development in 2012 and the upcoming challenges of 2013, President Ilham Aliyev outlined important issues related to the army and stated that the government pays great attention to strengthening defenses and the army", Mirzazade said.
Various international organizations often offer information on the achievements of Azerbaijan and its defensive power, but unfortunately some of them publish defamatory materials as well, the MP said.
"By familiarizing themselves with these materials, one can see behind them the contribution and role of Armenian nationalist groups hostile to Azerbaijan", Mirzazade said.
Earlier, President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview that Armenia is not able to withstand Azerbaijan's growing defense potential and in the event of hostilities, will turn to its allies, the deputy said.
Referring to the death of a soldier Jeyhun Gubadov in a military unit of the Ministry of Defence in Dashkesan area, Mirzazade stated that it is a shocking tragedy.
"An investigation is underway, and I believe in its objectivity. The guilty will be punished. But over the last ten days, some forces have tried to tarnish the name of army. These people know nothing about the army and are using the case for their political interests", the deputy said.
All areas of Azerbaijan have been dynamically developing for many years now, including the army, Chairman of the Association of public control of the Armed Forces Emin Hasanli said at the meeting.
The head of the government pursues a fruitful and result-oriented policy, he said.
The death of Jeyhun Gubadov was a shock to every citizen of Azerbaijan, it is not the loss of one family, but of the loss of an entire nation as a whole, Hasanli said.
"Unfortunately, some forces are using the tragedy for political purposes and are trying to discredit the armed forces of Azerbaijan", he said.
Not even the world's best army is insured from such incidents, he added.
"Rather than preventing these cases from happening in future, various dirty campaigns are being held", Hasanli said.
Other members who spoke at the event condemned the use of such cases for political purposes, and urged the Azerbaijani public not to give credence to such efforts.