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Mauvaise nouvelle pour Erevan : accords de vente d'armes entre la Russie et l'Azerbaïdjan

Publié le | par SibiryaKurdu | Nombre de visite 600

Again Testing Armenia's Loyalty, Russia Offers More Tanks To Azerbaijan
May 25, 2014 - 1:45pm, by Joshua Kucera

Russia is offering Azerbaijan another 100 tanks, on top of 100 that it has bought over the last three years, in a move that will surely have Armenians asking what more they need to do to prove their loyalty to Moscow.

Speaking at Kazakhstan's KADEX defense expo in Astana, Konstantin Biryulin, the deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation told Russian news agency ITAR-TASS that Azerbaijan's order of 100 T-90S tanks had been completed a month ago. And he added that Azerbaijan has an "option" to buy another 100, but that the option hasn't yet been exercised.

News last summer that Russia completed a $1 billion arms deal with Azerbaijan (which included those 100 tanks) prompted outrage in Yerevan. Armenia has been a loyal ally of Russia, and so selling such a large number of weapons to its enemy seemed like a betrayal.

But that was when Armenia was flirting with signing an Association Agreement with the European Union.
Not long after the arms deal was announced, Armenia announced that it had changed its mind about the EU and would instead be joining the Russia-led Customs Union. Now Armenia is scheduled to formally join the Customs Union in June. So another big arms sale to Azerbaijan would seem like an even bigger betrayal.

Writes RFE/RL : "Armenia’s Defense Ministry on Friday refused to comment on Moscow’s apparent readiness to sell more tanks to Baku. Biryulin’s revelation is certain to spark fresh anti-Russian statements by Armenian opposition groups and the media."

Source : http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68405

More Russian Arms Deals With Azerbaijan Add Insult To Armenia's Injury
May 27, 2014 - 9:37am, by Joshua Kucera

Just as Armenia was digesting the news that its ally, Russia, was offering a large batch of top-of-the-line tanks to its foe, Azerbaijan, it's emerged that there are other such deals in the works, as well.

APA reported that Russia will shortly deliver another batch of TOS-1A “Solntsepyok”multiple-launch rocket systems to Azerbaijan. The deal to buy those systems was announced last year, but at the time it was reported that it would be for six ; now the number has grown to 18.

In addition, Azerbaijan is reportedly in talks with Russia to buy Bal-E coastal anti-ship missile systems. Russian newspaper Kommersant quoted "an informed source in the Russian military-industrial complex" as saying that "negotiations will start later, now there is an understanding that our Azerbaijani colleagues are counting on the purchase of one division of the system."

Naturally Armenia, not having any navy, will not be threatened by the anti-ship missiles. But the Solntsepyoks, on top of the earlier offer of 100 T-90 tanks, is rankling in Yerevan. “I can’t be happy with that but I have no right to stop it,” said Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, reported RFE/RL.

Expert opinion was divided on the impact of the deal. Some downplayed the news : “The delivery of 100 tanks to Azerbaijan will not have any significant impact on the military balance. But we’re concerned about the fact that Azerbaijan keeps on purchasing attacking vehicles. Over the past three years, Azerbaijan has increased its military purchases, particularly the purchases of attacking vehicles for 400%. If this tendency continues, then it might pose a threat for us," said analyst Hrachya Petrosyants in an interview with Armenian website Mediamax.

Others were more concerned, if not for the military balance than for the state of the Armenia-Russia relationship. From RFE/RL :

 “If that is not compensated with more arms supplies to Armenia it could disrupt the balance,” warned Sergey Minasian, the deputy director of the Caucasus Institute. He said Moscow has until now cemented the Karabakh status quo with large-scale military assistance to Yerevan.

 Another analyst, Ruben Mehrabian, said Russia is not only demonstrating that it is not a true Armenian ally but also deliberately preventing a peaceful settlement by arming both parties to the conflict. “It’s time to question Russia’s role as a mediator,” he said.

Source : http://www.eurasianet.org/node/68407

Voir également : Comment Poutine a rappelé au régime bananier arménien qu'il ne pouvait pas avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre

Echec du "tournant pro-européen" (dixit Ara Toranian) du régime bananier arménien

Mauvaise nouvelle pour le régime bananier arménien : visite de Poutine à Bakou

La politique extérieure équilibrée de l'Azerbaïdjan


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