BAKU (Interfax)–Azeri President Haydar Aliyev has once again expressed his concern about Russia’s supplying S-300 rocket systems and MiG-29 fighter aircraft to Armenia. According to the presidential press service–Aliyev has sent a message to Russian President Boris Yeltsin expressing his concerns regarding this issue.
In Aliyev’s opinion–"Russia’s intensive arms supplies to Armenia and deepening Russian-Armenian cooperation contradict the letter and spirit of the agreement on friendship and cooperation between Russia and Azerbaijan."
Moreover–the Russian arms supplies to Armenia are upsetting the military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan–which could well entail unpredictable consequences–Aliyev writes.
An investigation into Russia’s illegal supplies of arms worth over $1 billion to Armenia–writes Aliyev–has produced no results. "Nor has any political or legal assessment been given the fact that those guilty in this scandal have not been punished," he wrote.
Aliyev expressed his hope that Russia–as the co-chairman of the OSCE’s Minsk Group–will make efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as soon as possible. "Azerbaijan will continue to observe the cease-fire in the conflict zone until a peace agreement is concluded," Aliyev wrote.