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Baku Demands Russia to Pay $300 Mln for Radar Lease
11:36 - 29.02.12
Azerbaijan has demanded Russia pay $300 million instead of the
previously agreed $7 million for the lease of a Soviet-era
anti-missile radar in the Azeri town of Gabala, the Russian news
agency RIA Novosti said, citing reports.
Russia has been in talks with Azerbaijan to extend its lease of the
radar, which it has operated in line with a 2002 deal, until 2025. The
current agreement is due to expire on December 24.
Russia had expected to finalize talks by June this year, because a new
agreement has to be signed at least six month before the existing one
expires, the newspaper said. But the talks have been strained since
the Azeri authorities asked Moscow to pay almost 43 times more for the
lease than it used to, the report said.
`This sum of money is unreasonably large,' the paper quoted a Defense
Ministry source as saying. `We will push for it to be significantly
lowered. We still hope to reach an agreement.'
Another high-ranking source told the paper that Russia may stop
operating the radar `if Baku does not limit its financial appetite.'
According to the report, Foreign Ministry officials have described the
Azeri demands as `agenda-driven.'
On Monday, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev called for a Russian
air base in the country to be closed, accusing Moscow of failing to
pay the $15 million debt for its lease and saying neither Russia nor
Kyrgyzstan needed the base.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov promised later in the day
to repay the debt by the end of February.
Tert.am
11:36 - 29.02.12
Azerbaijan has demanded Russia pay $300 million instead of the
previously agreed $7 million for the lease of a Soviet-era
anti-missile radar in the Azeri town of Gabala, the Russian news
agency RIA Novosti said, citing reports.
Russia has been in talks with Azerbaijan to extend its lease of the
radar, which it has operated in line with a 2002 deal, until 2025. The
current agreement is due to expire on December 24.
Russia had expected to finalize talks by June this year, because a new
agreement has to be signed at least six month before the existing one
expires, the newspaper said. But the talks have been strained since
the Azeri authorities asked Moscow to pay almost 43 times more for the
lease than it used to, the report said.
`This sum of money is unreasonably large,' the paper quoted a Defense
Ministry source as saying. `We will push for it to be significantly
lowered. We still hope to reach an agreement.'
Another high-ranking source told the paper that Russia may stop
operating the radar `if Baku does not limit its financial appetite.'
According to the report, Foreign Ministry officials have described the
Azeri demands as `agenda-driven.'
On Monday, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev called for a Russian
air base in the country to be closed, accusing Moscow of failing to
pay the $15 million debt for its lease and saying neither Russia nor
Kyrgyzstan needed the base.
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov promised later in the day
to repay the debt by the end of February.
Tert.am