Azerbaijan's defense industry cooperation with Russia has reached $4 billion and keeps growing, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev told reporters after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin who was on a one-day working visit to Baku, Tuesday. He said that Moscow and Baku planned to continue military and technical collaboration.
To recall, 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. Aliyev said that media reports on the military-technical cooperation of Russia and Azerbaijan not always reflect the real state of affairs in the field.
"I am sure this cooperation will be actively developed also in future. Azerbaijan is among the top buyers of Russian arms and other military equipment, which, Aliyev said, is considered the best in the world," Aliyev said.
The Russian delegation comprised Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu, Energy Minister Alexander Novak, Emergency Situations Minister Aleksey Ulyukayev, as well as Director General of Rosoboronexport Anatoly Isaykin, Head of the Russian Delegation at multilateral negotiations on the Caspian Sea Igor Bratchikov, LUKoil CEO Vagit Alekperov and Rosneft Chief Sechin.