Turkologist Levon Hovsepyan said that Turkey’s militarization has gained an unprecedented scale.

“Ankara spends from USD 3.5 to 5bln annually to purchase military equipment,” Hovsepyan told a press conference in Yerevan. According to him, Turkey is going to spend USD 4.5bln to buy military equipment in 2011.

“Actually, Turkey contradicts itself. The country is arming while assuring it wants zero problems with neighbors,” said Hovsepyan.

According to him, Turkey’s intensive militarization may be related to recent developments in the Middle East.

Hovsepyan also said that earlier Turkey was only consumer of weapons, while now it supplies weapons as well. He pointed to the development of Turkey’s military industry, saying that Ankara wants to gain a new image of a country with huge military potential.