Azerbaijan has issued a new threat to win back Nagorno-Karabakh by force, with President Ilham Aliev warning that he may unleash an all-out war against Armenia "at any moment."http://www.armenialiberty.org/ reports that addressing officers of the National Security Ministry, the Azerbaijani successor to the Soviet KGB, Aliev said there is still a chance of a peaceful resolution of the Karabakh conflict, but did not specify whether he thinks it can be achieved this year. He instead urged his countrymen to be prepared for renewed fighting.
"I think that the peace potential has not yet been exhausted. Therefore, we will of course remain faithful to the peace process," Aliev said in remarks broadcast by the Azerbaijani TV station ANS.
"But at the same time, we must be ready for any eventuality and that is why Azerbaijan has stepped up its army building efforts in recent years.
Our military spending has increased over the past years, and it will increase further. This is our sovereign right, this is our job. Our country is in a state of war. The opposite side must know that Azerbaijan is capable of securing its territorial integrity through war at any moment," he added.
