The President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, stated that the development of the country's armed forces is Baku's priority, because, according to him, new threats are emerging in the region, particularly from the territory of Armenia.
Azerbaijan continues to equip the army with new weapons, including long-range missiles. A number of agreements were also signed on the purchase of drones, Ilham Aliyev said.
He added that Azerbaijan is also increasing the number of personnel of special purpose units, which played an important role during the 44-day war. According to him, Azerbaijan prepared for that war for a long time and never hid it.
Referring to the peace treaty negotiations with Armenia, Aliyev noted that the Azerbaijani side does not need to rush. “Currently, strength, time and international law are on our side. The international community recognizes Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. We can still wait,” Aliyev said.
The Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan also stated in an interview with the Reuters agency that Baku does not see the need to provide additional security guarantees to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“We do not accept the precondition presented by Yerevan. That issue is Azerbaijan's domestic issue,” Jeyhun Bayramov said.
The diplomat also noted that there is some progress in the Armenia-Azerbaijan negotiations, a possible peace treaty between Baku and Yerevan can be concluded by the end of 2023. Bayramov added that it depends on Armenia.
