Azerbaijan, Baku, 1 February / The situation in the Azerbaijani Army should be discussed in Parliament. "The funds allocated from the public budget for the army are not being spent on purchases of new equipment," MP Gudrat Hasanguliyev said at the parliamentary meeting on 1 February.
The fighter jet MIG-29 of the Air Forces of Azerbaijan crashed during the training nearby the Shurabad Khizi settlement on 29 January. Both pilots on board the fighter jet, Fakhraddin Asgarov and Afgan Aslanov, died.
According to Hasanguliyev, the Defence Ministry purchases old equipment. "A new MIG-29 jet costs $31mln. The Azerbaijani Defence Ministry purchases old airliners paying $26mln for each and then buys expensive navigation systems from France. As a result, a fighter jet crashed and killing two Azerbaijani professional pilots. This issue, as well as the nationality of the people who buy the airliners should be investigated," he said.
The war between Azerbaijan and Armenia is not over. Therefore, the army is not a matter of one or two people in the Defence Ministry, but the entire nation, Hasanguliyev said. "The number of Azeri Turks should be increased in the Army's administration. It is time to speak openly about this," he said. The administration of the Defence Ministry should be called to Parliament to deliver a report, he added.