Belarus sells no weapons to Azerbaijan – Belarusian MP
24.03.2015,
16:57
Tamara Dolgoshey, head of Belarus' delegation in the CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly and deputy head of the committee on social affairs, education and health, has denied rumors going around that Belarus sells weapons to Azerbaijan.
YEREVAN, March 24. /ARKA/. Tamara Dolgoshey, head of Belarus' delegation in the CIS Inter-parliamentary Assembly and deputy head of the committee on social affairs, education and health, has denied rumors going around that Belarus sells weapons to Azerbaijan.
Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes.
Some Armenian experts say Azerbaijan has bought weapons worth $4 to 6 billion. They say the bulk of the weapons were bought from Russia and Israel, and some part was purchased from the Republic of South Africa, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
«This is an absolute lie, and I don't want even to comment on this,» she was quoted by Novosti-Armenia as saying Tuesday in Yerevan when asked by journalists. «Maybe this is some kind of rumors. I assure you on behalf of my country – we are very peaceful people, with the same principles that are very close to Armenian people, Russian people.»
The Belarusian lawmaker said that her country has never had a goal to come against other countries and has always been guided by a single for all wise nations principle – self-defense.
«Maybe these rumors were prompted by the latest military exercises, but actually this is a level of rumors, which doesn't deserve to be discussed – there are many peaceful initiatives among the countries now, such as Russia's initiative to Ukraine, to be implemented through humanitarian programs,»
Dolgoshey said. On March 18, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said at an international media forum that he was concerned about the sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan given close strategic partnership between Armenia and Russia and still unsettled Karabakh conflict, where Azerbaijan is one of the conflicting sides.
Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.
On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan. Afterwards, large-scale military operations began.
As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it.
Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes.
On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations.
Since 1992, talks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. -0---
