Tweet
RUSSIAN ARMS SALES TO AZERBAIJAN ON AGAIN?
EurasiaNet.org, NY
June 18 2013
June 18, 2013 - 1:53pm, by Joshua Kucera
Russia has completed a big arms delivery worth about $1 billion to
Azerbaijan, following reports that Baku was in fact suffering under
a quiet de facto arms embargo from Moscow. The deals were in fact
signed over the last two years, and most of them seem to have been
previously reported. But they were apparently recently delivered to
Baku and included, according to Reuters, "nearly 100 T-90C tanks,
Smerch and TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers and Msta-A and Vena
artillery cannons."
But wait, Bug Pit readers are saying. Didn't we just hear in April
that Russia had cut off arms sales to Azerbaijan, in particular of
several military aircraft deals that were in the works? That doesn't
necessarily contradict today's news, given that the latter refers
to various deals already signed. An interesting paragraph in the
Reuters piece:
A source at the Russian Defence Ministry said the order had been on
hold for some time to avoid upsetting the military balance in the
South Caucasus, where Russia has a military base in Armenia and an
agreement to defend the country if it comes under attack. But the
deal had been pushed through at the behest of Russia's powerful arms
industry, he said.
Now, "upsetting the military balance in the South Caucasus" could be a
euphemism for many different things. And what really caused the delay,
and how it was overcome, is anyone's guess. Frankly, this is the sort
of story that makes one despair of ever understanding anything that
goes on in the political-military affairs of the ex-USSR. To review:
Russia gives lots of weapons to Armenia because it's a strategic
ally, while selling arms at a profit to the oil-rich foe that Armenia
is likely to go to war with, Azerbaijan. It's really win-win-win --
except for the people of the Caucasus, who are going to be the victims
of these weapons some day.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67140
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
EurasiaNet.org, NY
June 18 2013
June 18, 2013 - 1:53pm, by Joshua Kucera
Russia has completed a big arms delivery worth about $1 billion to
Azerbaijan, following reports that Baku was in fact suffering under
a quiet de facto arms embargo from Moscow. The deals were in fact
signed over the last two years, and most of them seem to have been
previously reported. But they were apparently recently delivered to
Baku and included, according to Reuters, "nearly 100 T-90C tanks,
Smerch and TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers and Msta-A and Vena
artillery cannons."
But wait, Bug Pit readers are saying. Didn't we just hear in April
that Russia had cut off arms sales to Azerbaijan, in particular of
several military aircraft deals that were in the works? That doesn't
necessarily contradict today's news, given that the latter refers
to various deals already signed. An interesting paragraph in the
Reuters piece:
A source at the Russian Defence Ministry said the order had been on
hold for some time to avoid upsetting the military balance in the
South Caucasus, where Russia has a military base in Armenia and an
agreement to defend the country if it comes under attack. But the
deal had been pushed through at the behest of Russia's powerful arms
industry, he said.
Now, "upsetting the military balance in the South Caucasus" could be a
euphemism for many different things. And what really caused the delay,
and how it was overcome, is anyone's guess. Frankly, this is the sort
of story that makes one despair of ever understanding anything that
goes on in the political-military affairs of the ex-USSR. To review:
Russia gives lots of weapons to Armenia because it's a strategic
ally, while selling arms at a profit to the oil-rich foe that Armenia
is likely to go to war with, Azerbaijan. It's really win-win-win --
except for the people of the Caucasus, who are going to be the victims
of these weapons some day.
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/67140
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress