BAKU. June 26 (Interfax) - The illegal Armenian armed units, which remain in the Karabakh economic region, do not pose a serious threat to Azerbaijan and can be dealt with by a single Azerbaijani army corps, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said.
"We do not highly assess the capacities of the illegal armed units left in the territory of Azerbaijan's Karabakh economic zone. We are aware of their numbers, weapons and morale and know what they are capable of. Rest assured, as Mr. President [of Azerbaijan] has said, they have absolutely no chance to act against the Azerbaijani army," Hasanov said in an interview with the Azerbaijani television channel CBC.
"If they stage provocations or plot any illegal actions against the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, a single corps of the Azerbaijani army, even a part of it, can deal with these illegal armed units. We are aware of the balance of forces and hardware and know that the balance is not in their favor," Hasanov said.
Hasanov added that he still hoped for the triumph of common sense. As the illegal armed units realize "they are out of options, they have to operate consistent with international laws and the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," he said.
"This means they have to acknowledge Azerbaijani laws. Those who want to live in the Azerbaijani territory in accordance with the law, may live there, while those who do not want that are free to leave and settle down wherever they want," Hasanov said.