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Russia shouldn’t arm occupant Armenia - Azerbaijani MP

Politics Materials 18 October 2017 10:23 (UTC +04:00)
Russia, as a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, shouldn’t provide arms either free of charge or at the expense of a loan to Armenia, which is an occupant country
Russia shouldn’t arm occupant Armenia - Azerbaijani MP

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 18

By Elchin Mehdiyev – Trend:

Russia, as a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, shouldn’t provide arms either free of charge or at the expense of a loan to Armenia, which is an occupant country, Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend.

“Russia can sell weapons to any country and buy them from any country,” he noted. “However, the fact is that Azerbaijan buys weapons at its own expense from Russia or other countries. Russia doesn’t provide weapons free of charge or at its own expense to Azerbaijan. The question arises: how come that Russia at its own expense arms a country that is a party to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and that occupied the Azerbaijani territories? This is absolutely unacceptable, and I think Russia understands this.”

“This encourages the occupier to violate the peace talks and continue occupation,” the MP said. “From this point of view, we believe that Russia should avoid such steps.”

In late 2015, Russia and Armenia agreed on allocation of a $200 million loan to Armenia for the purchase of modern weapons. The Armenian government approved the first $100 million loan package Oct. 12, 2017.

Under the agreement, a $100-million loan will be extended to Armenia for 20 years.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

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