BRUSSELS—In line with the increased involvement in the neighboring countries, and the attention paid to the frozen conflicts in the Eastern region, the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs held a meeting on Wednesday June 15, with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Ambassadors Robert Bradtke (USA) and Bernard Fassier (France) on recent developments in the negotiations process and on the current situation in Nagorno Karabakh.
The Russian representative, Ambassador Igor Popov, did not attend the meeting due to the preparations for the Kazan meeting between the Armenian and Azeri presidents, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev. The negotiations have gathered a momentum, and it is likely that the upcoming meeting in Kazan (Russia) on June 25, will lead to a breakthrough, stressed Bradtke and Fassier.
Each of the presidents explained the results they reached during the past 5 years, and focused on their respective country’s involvement in the negotiation process. They both underlined that the OSCE Minsk Group is the best format to reach an agreement because of the efficiency, flexibility, taking quick and tough decisions and keeping the confidentiality.
Ambassador Bradtke stressed that the EU Eastern Partnership is of great importance for the United States and for the long-lasting peace in the Caucasus. They invite the European Union to play a decisive role in consolidating peace by preparing the civil societies in both countries, promoting democracy and using all its policies as leverages. They also think that the EU has a role to play in demining, reconstructing, and peace keeping.
Facing the harsh criticism by several MEPs regarding the status quo, Russia’s interest in the region, and the course of the arms race, Mr Fassier confirmed the decisive role of Russia, emphasizing that it is not the only country supplying arms to the region. He mentioned that Azerbaijan will buy drones (pilotless spying airplanes); that every year the Azerbaijani military budget is growing by 20 to 30%, and compared to last year it has increased by 100%, exceeding the Republic of Armenia’s entire GDP.
The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy reiterates its call on to the OSCE to demand solid, non-aggression guarantees from the Azeri state prior to any further discussions relating to the Minsk Group agenda. Furthermore, the Federation considers that the future negotiating process must include the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, as a full-fledged party to the negotiations. The Azerbaijani security threats are first directed to the people of Nagorno Karabakh, who must have their independent say in the process and future determination of their state.
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What’s so strange about it? Our economy is growing by some 10% each year on an average. Why shouldn’t we increase our defence spending? 3 billion USD is about 3% of Azerbaijan’s GDP. There are countries who spend 20% of their GDP on military.
Our non-oil sector is growing twice faster than the energy sector. An increase in military budget does not necessarily mean an arms race. The so called petro-dollars won’t be coming in forever. The money we are spending on our defence industry will eventually turn out to be a profitable investment when we start exporting our products to countries in Middle East, Africa and Central Asia. We demonstrated 75 types of defence products at IDEF-2011 exhibition in Istanbul recently. Countries such as UAE and Kuwait have already said they are interested in our products.
One more thing. Azerbaijan’s defence budget exceeds Armenian state budget. Not the GDP. The state budget.
We’re gonna win… this that… give me a god damn break, man up or die.
Instead of spending all your time trying to mess with Turkey and Azerbaijan, why dont you guys just take care of your economy and increase your GDP? The title to this article must be an embarrassment to Armenians. Oh! I can hear some of you now! You would rather eat tree roots and stay poor than give up your ultra nationalistic ideals that have been eating you away!! 🙂
Look,all we want are 3 things:
1)Don’t mess with us.
2)Independant Karabagh and/or
3)Another round of war with Azerbaijan,so we can sit down (this time in Baku) to figure it out your future.We can use some oil to take care of our economy and increase our GDP.
We mess with nobody, Turan. As a matter of fact, the browbeating and warmongering is being done by Azerbaijan, in their stereotypically dysfunctional Turkish way. Sure, Azerbaijan’s military budget exceeds Armenia’s GDP, so what? We want peace, not war. Azerbaijan, on the other hand, has been consumed by the flames of ultranationalism and xenophobia. The average Azeri would rather go to war and butcher Armenians than compromise and find a viable solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. What the Aliyevs have done to Azerbaijan is despicable and frightening. What a pathetic way to legitimize one’s regime.
We’re the ultranationalists? What a joke. Aliyev and his puppets spew threats against Armenia almost weekly, and we’re the ultranationalists? Pfft.
“Eat tree roots”? Strange how Armenia’s life-expectancy still exceeds Azerbaijan’s. Also, 20-30% of Azerbaijanis still reside in abject poverty. So much for Azerbaijan’s booming economy. Good luck remaining stable underneath the helm of a racist, nepotistic, kleptomaniacal, warmongering dictator. Compared to Azerbaijan, even authoritarian Armenia is a fountain of normality.
The title to this article actually embarrasses Azerbaijan. It shows that the Azeri government has completely abandoned its starving population and is spending its entire budget on the military. This explains why most of Azerbaijan’s population lives in poverty even though it’s an oil-rich country. Whatever money that does not go into the military goes in the Aliyev clan’s pockets so they can buy more mansions in Dubai under their children’s names.
Your entire comment should be directed at your fellow Tatars. You should give up your nationalistic ideals of a Great Turan (which you put as your alias, how very nationalist), stop spending all your money in the military and spend it on the people.
Let them waste all their money on weapons, while bitching about homeless and poor refugees still leaving in barracks. During Karabakh – Azeri war in 1991-1994, they had 20 times more weapons then Karabakh Liberation Army. Every Azeri knows that Karabakh is not their land and is not worth dying for.
It’s okay, we still maintain the high ground.
Oh Turan, please, “ultra nationalistic”. Your administration is raising a country of fascists, worse than right-wing-Turks; even they aknowledge Asia minor was Hellenic and Armenian before Mongols, Seljuks or Turks, not to speak of Turks of Azerbaijan, so called Azerbaijanis, were even present in the Caucasus.
But nowadays the turkish occupied North-Iranian region of Azerbaijan can kind of make up stories about how people invade their homelands, etc. I don’t think Armenian police would investigate if someone voted for Turkey in some song contest – happend in Azerbaijan. But whatever, right? Also a recent study showing that 65 – 75 % of Turks in Turkey strongly dislike Armenians, Greeks and Jews speaks a clear voice now, doesn’t it? Let’s not even start talking about the intellect of a person who dislikes people as a whole, especially in countries with no background of widespread education. Jesus Christ, the hypocrisy… Oh and btw Azerbaijans GDP (I say its crooked, but whatever) is only 4,5 times as high as Armenias is – with a population 3,5 times as high and not to speak ofthe oil! So, the numbers don’t look that good now, do they?
Gen_Aslanov, that seems rather reasonable, except that with that much money influx you should start thinking why you are saying “our products” and not “products of certain companies”, because if you think a noteworthy of those transactions will actually be of any good to “us” = “you” = the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan, then you are simply wrong.
Turan,
Where would Azerbaijan be without oil money? Ultra-nationalistic? Have you heard how many of the Azeri leaders talk?
Azeris have a lot of oil. Oil means money, means export, and means political power. Armenians are not fortunate enough to land on a bunch of black sludge that the entire world fights over for.
Justice comes first, always. Armenian lands are Armenian lands. The Armenian GEnocide is worth fighting for, no matter the effekt on the economy.
It is very easy as a turk to say that we should think on other things, then your problems would be blown away too. So forgeting Artsakh and the Genocide is nothing you should expect armenians do. Not after all this !!
This is nothing nationalistic this is just logical.
Every nation can’t be as lucky as you having oil and coming and taking lands and so on that other nations before you prepared! -.-‘
Turan,
where there is oil there will be blood…as long as the pipe line is safe and guarded by azerBYjanis Sultan alioff, you can have world’s best military and weaponry…Ghadafi had best military hardware, for over 40 years…you don’t have to worry about Armenians for now..just blame alioff, who can not afford to help those tent people in azerBYjan, where cattle and human share same cozy roof!!
When the Alyiev family will be deposed, and they and all the money embezzaled will be gone, Azerbaidjian will be left with rusting heaps of Armaments, an arms industry that will be and already is absolete. The Arms produced by US, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Russia is far more advanced and ahead of anything going on in Turkey, Iran, Azerbaidjian, etc. I feel bad about the Azery citizens whom have nothing, and will have even less. We are building roads, Schools, housing, Atomic Energy, Hydro energy,Alternative energy projects, Chemical enterprises and other projects. that will last into the very distant future. Yes we are building for peace, they ate building for war. Azerbaidjian should tace a census and ask its population, the parens of the future fighting me, if they are willing to sacrifice their chilldren for a few mountain villages that never really belonged to them anyway. Young men may say yes, to glorious parades in crisp new uniforms, but freezing in the blood soaked snow, next to you friend that just had his guts blown all over including your uniform, will change all that. And by the way, Will the Tatars, fight all by themselves? Do they expect the Talish, the Kurds, the Alans , the Mountain Jews and all the other ethnic groups to fight to the death too? I personally don’t want war. But if the Tatars, invade, this time they will loose again; We will win, take more land away and break up Azerbaidjian. Russia will get some territory, Georgia will get some, Iran will get some and there will be no more Azerbaidjian. Armenia has fought two wars with Azerbaijian in the last hundred years and won both times. The third time will be a charm. Go ahead, try it.
I can see that the nurse in the secure mental hospital where a certain turk is being held ,has forgotten to give the correct medication……someone ought to tell this moron who feels free to comment on Asbarez that he needs to take a very long and deep sleep or get back to his cave!
another round of war, easy to say but a nightmare for all, i dont think its a solution, solution is in piece, not in hate and war, so Armenians suppose to be best negotiators in the world even better then jews so be it.
Sure, they have lots of shiny new airplanes and tanks but they didn’t realize that the arms dealer wouldn’t fly or drive it for them. They have to learn that themselves and since I haven’t heard about the cutting edge aviation industry in Baku, I suspect it may take a while. Further, giving a soldier 10 machine guns deosn’t mean they will win. If they think the Armenians are going to be mesmerized by the shiny paint on the new tanks, they will learn that winning a war requires a deep determination for it. I don’t see the Azeri males with a good job on an oil rig jumping at the chance to fight for some land on the interior that they don’t care about. It has been 17 years since the end of the war, which means they either really enjoy peace negotiations which is a legendary trait of the Turkic people or they think they can reoccupt the land in ‘1 week’ but are concerned about the Armenian civilians ? Or, they have lost the war and have to accept that ‘asking nicely’ will not cause the Armenians to give back Artsakh.