Translated material
Ivanov checked the database
Armenia will not get equipment from Georgia
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov, who arrived in Armenia on a working visit, visited the 102nd Russian military base in Gyumri. The base was created in 1995 for a period of 25 years. It is subordinate to the Group of Russian Forces in Transcaucasia and is armed with S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems and MiG-29 fighters. The number of personnel is about five thousand military personnel.Sergei Ivanov was particularly interested in the readiness of the base and its engineering warehouses to receive Russian military equipment that would be withdrawn from Georgia. He resolutely denied rumors about the transfer of this equipment to the Armenian side. Mr. Ivanov emphasized that the weapons and equipment imported to Armenia will be used either to equip the Russian base or for disposal.
Before arriving in Armenia, Mr. Ivanov visited Azerbaijan. There he said that Russia is ready to supply weapons on a commercial basis to both Yerevan and Baku. Director of the Research Center for Integration and Security of the South Caucasus Sergei Minasyan reminded Vremya Novostei that Russia had previously sold weapons to Azerbaijan and provided it with military-technical assistance. “Despite the partnership with Armenia within the CSTO, of which Azerbaijan is not a member, Moscow had no problems with Baku. Russia's assistance in modernizing the armed forces of Azerbaijan was put forward by Baku as a condition in negotiations on the lease of the Gabala radar station. Kazakhstan, another ally of Armenia in the CSTO, also sells weapons to Azerbaijan: in particular, modern fighters,” Mr. Minasyan said.
Unofficial reports that Moscow is considering selling operational-tactical missiles to Azerbaijan and inviting Turkey to jointly produce the S-300 air defense system are prompting Armenian politicians to doubt the prospects for military cooperation with Russia. After all, the Russian military presence in Armenia is primarily due to the threat from Turkey. It was against the background of Ankara’s harsh statements made in the early 1990s that the decision was made to create a Russian base in Gyumri near the Armenian-Turkish border, which is jointly guarded by Russian and Armenian border guards.