ArmInfo. Armenia continues negotiations with Russia for continuing $200 mln army contract, Defense Minister of Armenia Vigen Sargsyan stated at the final press conference on January 27.
The Defense Minister refused to tell which types of weapons Armenia intends to purchase from Russia noting that it is a very sensitive issue and negotiations are being held secretly, however he noted that recently the Armenian army has been equipped with new optical sights and night vision devices. Besides, part of weaponry within $200 mln arms agreement has been supplied. "The supplies are organized according to schedules set in the contract. We continue negotiations with the Russian side for continuing the program as we need ultramodern weaponry for ensuring combat readiness of our armed forces and capacity to counter threats, while supplies within allied structures such as CSTO are not enough", Sargsyan noted.
In this context he reminded that Armenia's membership in the CSTO allows purchasing weapons from Russia on domestic market prices, which is a serious advantage. According to him Russia is considered on the international platform as a state producing competitive and modern weapons. At the same time Sargsyan mentioned that in the defense field Armenia cooperates intensively with its partners from the USA and Europe.
At the same time he stressed that no one doubts battle worthiness of Armenian Armed Forces and April events of 2016 in Nagorno Karabakh have demonstrated this, however in his opinion in nowadays conditions it is not enough. "Our army should be not only battle-worthy but also the best in the region. Our Armed Forces should develop faster than the processes in the region", the Minister summarized.
To recall, under the agreement on provision of a 200 mln USD loan to Armenia, the Armenian armed forces will acquire 9K58 "Smerch" multiple artillery rocket systems with ammunition, "Igla-S" surface-to- air missile systems, "Avtobaza-M" passive signals-intelligence systems, TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" flame throwers, "Tigr" all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles, "Konkurs-M" anti-tank missile systems, RPG-26 anti- tank rocket launchers, KamAZes, as well as communications equipment and engineering equipment. The loan is provided on preferential terms. The country will be redeeming the loan in Russian rubles at 3% p.a. starting from 2018 within 10 years. The advance payment will make up 10%.