YEREVAN. – Azerbaijan’s military budget is directly linked with money laundering, Sargis Asatryan, an expert in Azerbaijani affairs, stated during a press conference on Thursday (PHOTOS). 

“Azerbaijan’s officials and [military] command staff use the [country’s] military budget for money laundering. According to representatives of the neighboring country, the money is not at all used for the soldiers’ needs. On the contrary, much of the military budget is going into the pockets,” the analyst noted.    

In Sargis Asatryan’s words, Azerbaijan is purchasing old military equipment and weapons, and the overinflated budget only partially contributes to raising the combat-readiness of the Azerbaijani army.  

To note, Azerbaijan continually increases its military budget, and Azerbaijan has violated all OSCE standards, in terms of the number of weapons purchased, since a long time.