Some of the military hardware Armenia will buy from Russia
MOSCOW—A Russian military expert has said that the military equipment being supplied to Armenia by Russia is very similar to the equipment that Baku has already purchased, but warned that disparities in quantity would still be at play.
The Russian daily Izvestia reported on Tuesday that Russia, which has begun deliveries of arms to Yerevan based on a $200 million loan guarantee, will supply the same weapon to Armenia as it has sold to Baku.
Andrey Frolov, the chief editor of the Russian Arms Export magazine, told Izvestia that the new supply of arms to Armenia no doubt will advance the military disparity with Baku, but Azerbaijan still will have the upper hand in the weapons race given its large military budget.
Russia has sold Azerbaijan weapons in excess of $4 billion and has argued that if it did not supply the arms, Azerbaijan would purchase it from other sources. Russia’s arms sales to Azerbaijan has angered Armenia with its leadership expressing tacit dissatisfaction.
Last Thursday, after meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian, Russian president Vladimir Putin told a press conference that Armenia was Russia’s strategic ally in the region that Moscow “always fulfills its obligations.â€
