The policies of Ankara and Baku threaten stability in the region, according to Armenian Defence Minister Seyran Ohanyan.
Talking to Russian news agency Interfax, Ohanyan said Azerbaijan's bellicose policy posed a direct threat to Armenia. Baku is provoking an arms race in the region, thereby threatening the military balance of power and regional stability, Ohanyan said.
“Azerbaijan has increased its military budget several times and propagates enmity towards Armenia and Armenian people. This policy may provoke destabilization and does not meet the agreements on the peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict,” the minister said.
He said that Baku’s bellicose rhetoric and threats showed the need to be ready for war at any time. Ohanyan said that Armenian armed forces were ready to resist attack. "We are taking steps to preserve the balance of powers in the region. As for the combat readiness of the armed forces, the Azerbaijani army will never be able to exceed the Armenian and Karabakh armies in this respect.”
The defence minister said that Turkey’s "contradictory" policy also threatened regional stability: “Trying to normalize its relations with Armenia through a number of preconditions, Turkey has in fact fostered the formation of dividing lines in the region. Armenia’s economic and transport blockade over the Karabakh conflict is illogical and abnormal.”
He ruled out the possibility of Ankara’s involvement in the Karabakh conflict settlement process. “The negotiating process continues within the Minsk Group format with the mediation of Russia, France and the United States. Turkey’s involvement in this process is ruled out, since Ankara has demonstrated that it cannot be constructive and unbiased.”
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