Foreign Minister Nalbandian addresses the Rio+20 Summit

RIO DE JANEIRO—The increasing of Azerbaijan’s military budget and its amassing of weapons poses a threat to regional stability and security, said Armenia’s Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian during a address at the Rio+20 Summit on Sustainable Development currently under way in the Brazilian city.

Highlighting a section of what is known as the Millennium Declaration, in which government pledge to “spare no effort to free peoples from the scourge of war,” Nalbandian pointed to Azerbaijan’s continuous efforts to arm itself despite international promises to the contrary.

“Today, we are witnessing an unprecedented growth in neighboring Azerbaijan’s military budget, which has increased dramatically over the last few years. The militaristic stance, adopted at the highest level in that country, poses a real threat to the regional security, stability and development,” said Nalbandian. “As a result of these factors the capacity of regional countries is not fully realized and the implementation of sustainable development programs requires greater effort, resources and time.”

The summit, which has brought together representatives from 192 countries to focus on a global agenda for sustainable development and to strengthen the commitment of all nations toward that approach

“Today we are here to reaffirm our commitment and to ensure that a growth based on principle of sustainable development and environmental governance, is as significant now, and even more urgent, than it was 20 years ago in all aspects—global, regional, national and local. Sustainable development will require continued and sustained commitments and efforts from all of us,” pledged Nalbandian.

“Armenia is fully confident that the global commitment to sustainable development will be strengthened by this Summit and that a more solid base to fight poverty and environmental degradation will be set in place,” added Nalbandian. “Armenia confirms its strong will to promote and to support the initiatives aimed at transforming challenges into opportunities both at global and regional levels.”