BAKU—According to a report a report released by a leading arms observation group on Monday, Azerbaijan is second in the ranking of nations with sharpest increase in military spending, registering a 493 percent increase from 2004 to 2014.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said in its report that while countries like the United States are cutting military spending, a staggering number of countries around the world were doubling their military capabilities.
The report attributed Azerbaijan’s spike in military expenditures to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Baku Eyes More Weapons from Russia
An aide to Azerbaijan’s Defense Industry Ministry, Azad Mammadov, was quoted by Itar-Tass news agency on Thursday as saying that Baku was looking forward to the participation of Russia’s arms exporter in an international arms exhibit slated to take place in Baku in Septemeber.
Mammadov expressed hope that relations with Rosoboronexport will yield more military purchases for Azerbaijan.
Mammadov emphasized that Russia has already sold Azerbaijan more weapons than any other country, including Turkey. He listed sophisticated Russian tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems and attack helicopters supplied to Azerbaijan’s armed forces. Azerbaijan has also started the licensed manufacturing of Russian-designed AK-74M assault rifles, the official said, reported RFE/RL.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said in August that the total volume of Russian-Azerbaijani defense contracts is “measured at $4 billion and tends to grow further.” He spoke two months after it emerged that Russia has begun delivering $1 billion worth of offensive weaponry, including about 100 tanks, to the Azerbaijani army.
The disclosed supplies raised eyebrows in Armenia, with local politicians and pundits accusing Moscow of acting against the spirit of the Russian-Armenian military alliance. Russian security officials dismissed the criticism.
General Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian army’s General Staff, signaled Moscow’s readiness to sell more weapons to Azerbaijan when he visited Baku earlier this month. Gerasimov told Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov that “there are prospects for stepping up” bilateral military-technical cooperation.
They need to spend much more if they want to dare to attack Armenia! We will level them ! First target I would take out there oil fields then the fun starts!
History proves that those who underestimate their enemies are always the ones who are defeated. Don’t think that Russia has or ever will have Armenia’s back in case of a war. Armenians are huffing and puffing about beating the Azeris, but keep in mind that the same circumstances that existed in the 1990’s do not exist today, and that Armenia is internally and externally much weaker today (thanks to selling everything to Russia) than Azerbaijan was back then. Even if we do win the war, if our outcome is not suitable for Russia, we will be forced to give up territory to keep both countries at odds with each other for a longer period of time. This is to allow Russia to continue to profit from this unresolved conflict.
-“Don’t think that Russia has or ever will have Armenia’s back in case of a war”
Except when Russia saved Armenia from annihilation in 1920, or the duration of the Cold War, or 1993-present day…
-“that Armenia is internally and externally much weaker today (thanks to selling everything to Russia) than Azerbaijan was back then.”
What an outrageous lie! Armenia has never been more stable internally, and the Armenian military is at the height of its power. You are obviously very familiar with the upheaval that dominated Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, but you seem clueless about how much worse Armenia had it… I wonder why you know more about Azerbaijan than you do Armenia. I know you and President Aliyev share many views about Armenia and the Armenian government as both of you vehemently call for its destruction, but don’t believe their lies about the myth of the Azeri military being some invincible entity on the verge of destroying Armenia, that is just a lie for the domestic Azeri audience.
Oh and thanks to Russian support Armenia is back on its feet and standing tall. God bless mother Russia and the Russo-Armenian alliance, and protect it from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
-“allow Russia to continue to profit from this unresolved conflict”
Oh yeah the Russians are really profiting from having to subsidize the Armenian state and military in order to keep up with the NATO-backed regime in Baku. That’s some fine geopolitical and economic analysis by you, “Armenian”.
“Mammadov emphasized that Russia has already sold Azerbaijan more weapons than any other country, including Turkey. ”
God bless mother Russia and the Russo-Armenian alliance, and protect it from all enemies, foreign and domestic.
theyre producing their own rifles while we rely on russias handouts, does anyone else see problems with this?
what is the state of armenias military industry?
Armenia, blockaded by 2 nations in the east and west, iran under sanctions, Georgia untrustworthy and jealous of our alliance with Russia. of all nations WE should have developed as the most self sufficient, self reliant.
where are those “god bless Russia” Armenians now?
They’re busy praying to their Russian idols for a miracle, neglecting to take matters into their own hands and take proactive steps toward some elements of self-reliance.
God Bless Mother Russia. And may God help you better educate yourself about Armenia’s fledgling but impressive arms industry.
This is one of the reasons, why Russia let Axerbaijan ship oil to Europe. If Sultan of oil does not comply and obey the master’s will and plan, then he will be replaced with another corrupt dictator!
because azerbaijan is just a bunch of blood thirsty animals
The thing is Russian is happy to make money on these military exports, because it they will take pleasure of destroying them in case Aliev learns to make a move like Saakashvilli (so he can learn how to eat ties).
While I’m not happy to see Azerbaijan getting Russian or any other weapons, Azerbaijan has billions to waste on weapons and if not in Russia it will spend its money elsewhere.
In defense of Russia, let me make three points:
1) Unlike all other countries that supply weapons to Azerbaijan, Russia is the only one which supplies equally capable weapons, and in even larger quantities, to Armenia and FOR FREE. Thus Russia ensures the military balance never favors Azerbaijan. Israel, the US, Turkey, South Africa, Ukraine, Georgia and the EU states sell to Azerbaijan and at best they make worthless “statements” to appease Armenia. In an ironic way, Azerbaijan is using its dwindling petrodollars to subsidize the Russian weapons that Armenia receives at discounts or for free!
2) Azerbaijan gets less capable export versions of Russian weapons at full retail price, while Armenia gets domestic, fully-capable Russian versions at discount prices or for free, and Armenia due to its CSTO and Customs Union membership can order directly from Rossoboronexport without requiring Russian government approval.
3) Russia has troops on standby on the Azeri border, troops in Gyumri which have stated on numerous occasions recently that in case of an Azeri attack on Armenia that they will fight for the Armenian side, and Russia provides economic, diplomatic, political, military, technological, training, informational and various other types of support to Armenia, in fact Russia is currently helping Armenia launch a spy satellite that the Russians are designing and paying for so that Armenia can keep up with the billions Azerbaijan is spending on its own, western-designed, fully-paid for spy satellite. Russian diplomats for decades have stated that “there is no military solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict”. In other words, Russia pressures Azerbaijan to ensure that it does not launch any attacks against Armenia.
Also, even the US buys Russian helicopters for use in Afghanistan, so let’s not get carried away mixing business and politics. Still, I’d like to see more Armenians active in promoting Armenian interests to the Kremlin, right now there are a large number of Armenians only interested in antagonizing and insulting Russia at every opportunity instead of properly exploiting our alliance.
Bravo, very realistic, I completely agree,
Niiice!! More metal boxes to blow up for Armenians, gonna enjoy taking back our lands with my brothers
You cant buy guts with money. Jerky turkey,and little bastard brother azerbaturk,have always been COWARDS…..They should spend it on education,with the illiteracy rate,of 70%
More toys for us to take next time..
Naxhchivan is the destination i cant wait to ride in one of those tanks should be fun….
Are you serious? How about we focus on making Armenia a better place instead of thinking about whose land to take next? Let’s get our own house in order before riding tanks.
I am shocked at how some Armenians are responding to this news. Many of you are completely missing the bigger picture here, and that is that our beloved “protector” is making a personal investment in our own destruction by supplying the enemy with more and more weaponry.
“Armenian” and his analyses are priceless: “How dare you Armenians act so masculine and connected to what the Japanese call Bushido. Why, instead of confidence in Armenia’s Russian-backed military and its ability to protect Armenia’s borders, you all should be taking to the streets and rioting until the Armenian government and state collapse because only then will Armenia be truly safe from a Turkish-Azeri attack… And stop this ‘nonsense’ talk about liberating historic Armenian territories like Nakhichevan, for Armenia is unworthy of any more land, and Nakhichevan is safe under NATO’s sacred watch, I don’t want to see Nakhichevan reduced to another filthy Russian oblast..”
They buy these supposed weapons at inflated prices such as 1 million for 100 g helicopeter then they split 100 for the helicopter 100 for the russians then 800 goes into aliyevs account or someone like him….do not be afraid of a paper tiger we have christ on our side.
who cares?
To the russophiles: Russia has sold Azerbaijan more weapons than any other country, including Turkey. And you guys dare to call Russia our savior? A foreign nation won’t save us. We have to save ourselves. Russia’s goal is to keep military balance between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Russia doesn’t want us to have a very strong military, because Russia would lose it’s leverage over Armenia if we are too powerful. Russia wants the Artsakh conflict to remain unresolved. That’s why Russia tries to maintain the balance of military between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Keep saying that all you want. They won’t get it. They simply refuse to acknowledge the facts on the ground, and will continue to look for ways to justify their fanaticism. In their minds, Armenians are not capable of doing anything themselves, and they see our role in the world as that of the permanent parasite, looking for a host. It’s a shame. We’re worth so much more than that, and are capable of improving our lives just by taking the right steps, even on the simple social level. By the time they understand that, it will be too late.
Right, Armenians can totally take on Turkey and Azerbaijan and their Islamic and NATO allies through democracy and civil society alone, no pressing need for a Russian alliance or anything of that sort. Just like in the movies.
If we had to rely on Armenians like you, Armenia would not exist today. Without Russia helping an impoverished and dysfunctional Armenia militarily compete against a petrodollar rich nation like Azerbaijan, Armenia would simply disappear. God bless Mother Russia. God bless our Hayrenik. And may God help preserve Russo-Armenian relations from all enemies both foreign and domestic.
This is what there is, don’t like it? ask help the West, they will give a lot of B Sht.
Well said GeorgeMardig.