Sale of a new lot of up-to-date arms to Azerbaijan was nothing but a preventive measure by Moscow ahead of the Armenia-EU Association Agreement, diplomatic sources told ArmInfo. "It is not a secret that the Association Agreement is to be signed at the EPP Summit in Vilnius in November. Therefore, the sale of arms to Azerbaijan meets this logic. The deal was legally registered in the package of contracts with Azerbaijan yet in 2011-2012. It is noteworthy, however, that Moscow has approved the supply of arms to Azerbaijan quite lately," the source says.
On June 15 reports on the supply of military hardware to Azerbaijan by Russia flooded Mass Media. The military hardware being supplied to Baku is worth between $700 million and $1 billion and includes 94 T- 90S tanks, about 100 BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles, 18 Msta-S howitzers, 18 Smerch rocket launchers, 18 Vena "floating mortars," and six TOS-1A Solntsepek multiple launch rocket systems. Only in 2010- 2011 Russia supplied arms in the amount of nearly $3 billion to Azerbaijan.
Armenia and EU has been negotiating for Association Agreement and for DCFTA since 2010. The negotiations are due to over till the Eastern Partnership Summit in Vilnius in Nov 2013. The document will replace the EPP and Armenia-EU Action Plan. The agreement aims gradual economic integration of Armenia into EU. In 2011 Armenia's export to EU totaled 45.5% of total export amid 20.1% export to CIS. Cooperation with Europe has intensified amid Russia's growing integration efforts through formation of the Customs Union and versatile free trade area in the CIS, which Armenia joined yet in
Sept 2011. Armenia's integration policy implies simultaneous participation in the free trade areas of the CIS and EU. nevertheless, Brussles and Moscow regularly offer Yerevan to chose one vector of integration as Association Agreement with the EU and Russia's Customs Union are incompatible.