Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)—Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Shavarsh Kocharyan slammed the Azeri President on Monday for his remarks on the possibility of war with Armenia, Public Radio of Armenia reports.

“It’s no secret to anyone that the denial of the right to self-determination through the distortion of the essence of the Karabakh conflict, the propaganda of hatred towards Armenians and the threats of resumption of war are the main obstacle to the negotiation process,” the Deputy Foreign Minister said.

The Azeri President declared in a speech that, “According to statistics, Armenia is inferior to Azerbaijan in all aspects, which will play a decisive role in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh issue.”

Aliyev continued by saying, “They [Armenia] constantly repeat that there is no alternative to negotiations. You know, in today’s world in any field there are enough alternatives. But we want this issue to be resolved peacefully.”

Kocharian rebuked the Azeri leader’s ominous statement by saying that Aliyev would do well to “[keep] in mind the defeat in the war that [Azerbaijan] unleashed, irrespective of any figures. He’s well aware that new adventurism will lead to new defeats,” Kocharyan said.

Azerbaijan has been seeking more military power with a rapid arms buildup in recent years, funded by massive oil and gas revenues.

“If to make comparisons between Armenia and Azerbaijan, our advantage is openly manifested in all areas. Our budget is 10 times the state budget of Armenia. Gross domestic product is more than 8 times and the population, 6 times,” Aliyev stated in his speech.

“All of our capacity is growing, while Armenia is experiencing an extremely difficult period economically and demographically. The correlation of forces has very seriously changed in favor of Azerbaijan,” said the head of state.

Aliyev also demonstrated that he will accept no compromise, calling for the full withdrawal of Artsakh and Armenian troops from Karabakh as the only solution to the conflict.