The President of Azerbaijan gave an interview to the Russian journalist Dmitri Kiselyov, and once again complained that Armenia and France are cooperating in the defense sector. He noted that in 2025, Azerbaijan's military budget will be more than $5 billion. "Armenia will not withstand the arms race with us, although most of the offensive weapons are given to them for free or on credit," Aliyev said.
He noted that Azerbaijan intends to buy weapons from Russia, but that process has been temporarily suspended for obvious reasons. "Baku is closely following the news of the Russian military industry," he emphasized.
According to Aliyev, the military supplies to Armenia are a real threat to Azerbaijan, which cannot be ignored, they prevent the signing of the peace treaty. Aliyev said that two points of the draft peace treaty have not yet been agreed upon, the first refers to the abandonment of mutual international lawsuits, and the second refers to the deployment of representatives of third countries on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Aliyev referred to Moscow-Baku cooperation, stated that Azerbaijan is waiting for Russian investments for the reconstruction of Karabakh. He added that Tatarstan has already implemented an investment project.
Ilham Aliyev commented on the news about the possible establishment of a Turkish military base in Azerbaijan, calling them a political speculation. "There is no need for that," said the President of Azerbaijan.
Ilham Aliyev added that during the more than 30 years of military cooperation between the two countries, Turkey and its military structures have played a major role in the modernization of the Azerbaijani army and the strengthening of combat capabilities. He emphasized that thanks to Ankara, Baku has reached a "high level of effectiveness of military operations".
