We hope that the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be settled peacefully. However, should the talks prove to be unsuccessful, the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan will, with the determination of the Azeri people and the approval of the State Head, take action to release the Azerbaijan land from the Armenian invaders, the Azerbaijan Defense Minister, Colonel-General Safar Abiyev stated on 16 October in Baku during the meeting with the delegation of the Ad Hoc Committee for Future Defense and Security of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly which was headed by the Chairman, Vahid Erdem.
The Defense Minister stressed that Azerbaijan co-operated with NATO in 1994 within the framework of the Program Partnership for peace, and since 2004 the co-operation has been continuing on the basis of the Individual Partnership Action Plan. Abiyev informed the delegates of the military-political situation in the region of South Caucasus, as well as the history of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. He stressed that placing large military arsenals in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia imposes serious threats for the large-scale economical projects in the region.
Erdem voiced his confidence that the conflict will be resolved peacefully. He was interested in the structure of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, the military budget and the character of co-operation with NATO. He stated that the participation of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces in the peacemaking operations carried out by NATO testifies that the relations between Azerbaijan and NATO are developing favorably.
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