AZERBAIJAN, ARMENIA PROBE FOR NAGORNO-KARABAKH PEACE WHILE ON WAR-FOOTING

Jonathan Alpeyrie 5/27/05

The prospects for lasting peace in Nagorno-Karabakh have improved markedly in recent months. Yet, even as negotiators express hope for a settlement that determines the region’s political status, sporadic fighting occurs along the so-called contact line established by a 1994 ceasefire agreement. [...].

Much of the recent optimism surrounding the Karabakh peace process was generated by May15-16 discussions between Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev.
[...]

With the bacground of an arms race reported below, we can see why Azebeijan is concerned with the Russian ammunitions movement from Georgia to Armenia Here.

With a peace deal far from certain, both countries appear to be bracing for an arms race. Azerbaijani officials have indicated that a portion of the profits generated by the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which formally opened on May 25, would be used to upgrade Azerbaijani military forces. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In response, Armenia’s Prime Minister Andranik Markarian urged that Armenia boost its defense expenditures as "much as it can," the Arminfo news agency reported May 26.

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears Here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...].The bold emphasis is mine.