Azeri State Budget military expenditures grow 27.9% year-on-year

He said the military spending will increase by 27.9%, year-over-year, in 2007.

"These expenditures also includes doubling of the salary of servicemen, pension etc. Army is the priority of Azerbaijan. We will continue to raise military budget despite dissatisfaction of some international organizations," he said.

Parliament security and defense standing commission chairman Ziyafet Asgarov reiterated that some international organizations claiming that Azerbaijan is quickly getting armed is untrue.

Per capita military spending doesn't exceed any standards and doesn't violate European Convention on the Firearms, APA reports.