President Aliyev: Azerbaijan significantly increasing its combat capabilities UPDATED

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said that the country is significantly increasing its combat capabilities and will continue to do so in the future.

Aliyev made the remarks as he addressed a ceremony to present the battle flag to one of the commando military units of the Ministry of Defence, Azertag reported on June 23.

“Several military units are already in operation and more units are to be opened in the future. So, we are significantly increasing and will continue to increase our combat capabilities,” the head of state noted.

“The opening of another commando unit in our country is a very significant event. As you may know, after the Patriotic War, the Commando Force was established in the Ministry of Defense on my orders and the number of commandos is increasing by the day,” he added.

“In the Second Karabakh War, the Special Forces showed tremendous professionalism and heroism. They played a special role in implementing a number of military operations,” the commander-in-chief of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces stressed.

“Taking into account all this, as well as combat operations of our time, the establishment of the new Commando Force has been set as a task on my orders and this task is being successfully fulfilled,” the head of state said.

“After the second Karabakh war, the process of army building picked up further pace,” Aliyev said.

"During the occupation, army building was the number one task for us, as special importance was attached to preparing our Army and all our Armed Forces for the liberation of our lands, and we have achieved this. The Patriotic War ended with a complete victory of the Azerbaijan state. But despite this, additional steps are being taken to build up the army after the war, and there is a great need for that. After all, the geopolitical situation in the world is becoming increasingly strained, there are new threats in our region, revengeful forces are rising in Armenia again,” he added.

“The task of further strengthening our Army remains the number one priority. Comprehensive measures are being taken to achieve this. After the Patriotic War, the process of purchasing new weapons has continued, many contracts have already been signed – for new unmanned aerial vehicles and long-range missiles for our country – the missiles that have great destructive power and high precision,” the head of state underlined.

“The process of upgrading the structure of the Ministry of Defense is also underway, and this process continues. I am sure that the decisions made regarding military education will bear fruit in the near future,” said Azerbaijani President as he addressed the servicemen.

“The establishment of new combat units, first of all, the creation of a Commando Force is one of the important factors for increasing our combat capability,” the Azerbaijani leader noted.

“Today, we are developing our Armed Forces on the basis of a unified program, and I am sure that in the near future, our Army will rise to a new and higher level,” Aliyev said.

The head of state once again reminded that the Azerbaijani Army today is even stronger than the Azerbaijani Army which showed heroism and professionalism during the war.

“The number of Special Forces of the Ministry of Defense has been significantly increased,” the president underlined.

“The number of marines of the Ministry of Defense has been increased several times, and this increase continues. The State Border Service, the Internal Troops, the State Security Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service – the number of special forces of these institutions has been increased many times, and all this great force has one goal of protecting our territory, securing the territorial integrity of our country and, if there is a threat to our security, defeating the enemy with crushing blows,” the head of state noted.

“Our successful economic policy allows us the opportunity to allocate sufficient state funds for army building, for the purchase of new weapons and equipment, and for the creation of new combat units,” the president said.

“This year's state budget is already a record budget in the history of independent Azerbaijan. Despite this, as soon as we got the additional funds, we allocated a large amount to increase the budget and identified two main directions there – first, the restoration of Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur, and second, the strengthening of our military potential,” the head of state pointed out.

“All necessary measures will continue to be taken to further strengthen our Army. Azerbaijan's enemies know and see this, and they must know and see this,” the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces emphasised.

“That is why any provocation against us does not go unanswered. Every provocation is met with a worthy response. Today, Azerbaijan is one of the countries that determines its own destiny, does not and will not depend on anyone, speaks its word openly and conducts an independent policy. So, our country is an independent country in the true sense of the word, because it is capable of conducting an independent policy, and it is primarily our military potential that gives us this power,” the head of state noted.

On June 23, Aliyev viewed the conditions created at one of the commando military units of the Ministry of Defence and presented the battle flag to the military unit.

A year ago on June 26, 2022, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the opening ceremony of a new commando military unit as part of his visit to the Kalbajar region. This was the second commando military unit commissioned in the liberated regions, following the one founded in Hadrut on December 24, 2021.

Earlier, Aliyev noted that Azerbaijan would create many commando brigades across the country. President Aliyev described the creation of the commando brigade unit in Hadrut as a significant event of strategic importance.

Experts described the creation of commando brigades in Azerbaijan as a new stage in the national army building. It was also assessed as a clear message for supporters of revanchist ideas in Armenia.