Azerbaijan Receives Large Batch of Russian Arms

Azerbaijan received a large batch of Russian weapons and military equipment, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The arms and equipment delivered in Azerbaijan are capable of destroying armored vehicles, engineering and fortification structures, low-speed air targets and other military facilities.

"A planned delivery of the latest Russian military equipment to Azerbaijan has been carried out in accordance with the intergovernmental agreement and within the framework of successfully developing defense industry cooperation between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation," the ministry said in a statement.

The weaponms will be sent to the front line in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, the ministry added.

"The delivery of Russian military equipment and weapons to Azerbaijan will be continued," the statement read further.

Following Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's (NKR) declaration of independence from Azerbaijan in 1991, Azerbaijan engaged in a military conflict with neighboring Armenia. The active military phase of the conflict ended in 1994 with Azerbaijan loosing control over this ethnically Armenian-majority region.

In April 2016, the clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces reignited, with both sides accusing each other of ceasefire violations. The sides agreed to a ceasefire on April 5, but clashes have continued.

The Erebuni base was formed in 1995 and the MiG-29 Fulcrum multirole fighters were deployed there in 1998, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. In July 2001, the units at Erebuni were incorporated into an air division of the Russian 102nd Military Base in Gyumri, Armenia.


Source: Baku / SPUTNIK By Military & Intelligence News (sputniknews.com) - 24 June 2017

Photo: Azerbaijan Army T-72 MBT (Photo by © Sputnik/ Evgeny Biyatov)



(24.06.2017)