December 5, 2001 - 22:20 AMT
ACCORDING TO ARABIAN SOURCES AGREEMENT ON MILITARY SUPPLIES TO AZERBAIJAN BY ISRAEL ACHIEVED AT THE SECRET TALKS
According to «Muari» newspaper issued in Beirut, recently secret talks between the representatives of military authorities of Israel and Azerbaijan have taken place in Arkara. The newspaper keeps informed that the result of the talks is the agreement of the delivery of a hundred of «Merkawa» tanks and thirty warplanes to Azerbaijan by Tel Aviv. Besides Baku expects to receive a part of old defense technology which utilization problem Tel Aviv will have after completion of the modernization of defense technology that has already started. Russian, Irani and Turkmen experts in the arming sphere do not cover their worries with the fact that further militarization of Azerbaijan will result in the breach of agreements on quotas and flank restrictions of usual arms in Europe.Such fears, particularly, have been expressed by «Nezavisimaya gazeta» Russian newspaper stating that the observed process might «provoke tension of the old and the rise of new conflicts».