By Asbarez | Wednesday, 16 January 2013
An Azeri military parade in Baku last year
BAKU (Associated Press)—Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev announced a sharp hike in military spending and again warned Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Aliyev said in remarks published Wednesday in state newspapers that this year’s defense budget will rise to $3.7 billion, up from $3 billion last year.
Annual military spending increases have taken place amid persisting tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Border skirmishes are relatively common, but there has been no return to the full-out conflict of the 1990s.
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Baku, in protest at the death this month of an 18-year old conscript. Demonstrators said he died as a result of abuse.
In remarks addressed at the domestic opposition, Aliyev warned against smearing Azerbaijan’s army.
comments
Aliyev Again Refers to Most of Armenia as Western Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan Blocks Humanitarian Transport To and From Lachin Corridor
#TogetherForSyria Telethon Raises over $110,000 for Armenians In Syria
After Lachin Corridor Blockade, Putin Speaks to Pashinyan and Aliyev
Aliyev Signs Order Declaring Shushi Cultural Capital of Turkic World
Lemkin Institute Voices Support For Artsakh Rights to Self-Determination to Avoid Genocide
Tensions Escalate Between Iran and Azerbaijan
Moscow is Closely Coordinating Peace Treaty with Yerevan and Baku
Aliyev Criticism of Russian Peacekeepers and Iran Elicits Strong Reactions
Putin Says Yerevan Rejected His Plan to Cede Less Territory in Artsakh