Azerbaijan, Barda, June 3 /Trend, S.Dzhaliloglu/
Today, the Azerbaijani army is the most powerful army in the South Caucasus, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry Eldar Sabiroglu told reporters on Friday.
"The Armed Forces of Azerbaijan stand ready to fulfill any combat mission. So far, Azerbaijan has signed military agreements with 28 countries. As a result of permanent strengthening of our army, the interest of the armed forces of foreign states to cooperate with the Azerbaijani army has increased. The military potential of the Azerbaijani army is strengthened, new equipment is purchased. Over the past several years, capital repairs and reconstruction work have been carried out in 43 military units of the armed forces," said Sabiroglu.
Over the past five months, the Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire 447 times. As a result of hunger in the Armenian army, the soldiers voluntarily pass to Azerbaijani side. Because of lack of discipline in the armed forces of Armenia, conflicts often arise between soldiers.
In recent period, six soldiers have been martyrs as a result of violations of the ceasefire. During this period, the OSCE has conducted monitoring on the front lines five times.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.