Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept 28 /Trend E. Tariverdiyeva/
The prolongation of the agreement on the rent of the Gabala radar station for two to three more years will set Russia's intentions to refuse from paying for further use for the station as soon as tensions over Iran lessen, the deputy general director of Information and Analytical Centre of Moscow State University Alexander Karavayev said.
"According to the latest reports, the refusal by Russia from prolonging the rent over two to three years is possible. The radar station is most likely to be kept while the level of tension over Iran is high and the Russian military haven't regulated the cover areas of the new generation radar stations which are constructed in the south," Karavayev stated during the Moscow Baku video bridge, organised by RIA News.
In Karavaev's opinion this doesn't mean that Azerbaijan and Russia are not able to conduct joint projects in the field of defence.
The agreement on rent for the Gabala radar station by Russia will most likely be prolonged for three more years maximum. However financial parameters of the agreement during this period will remain unchanged, RIA News reported.
"Negotiations on prolongation of the agreement for two to three more years with existing parameters, including financial ones are taking place," the agency's interlocutor stated.
The Gabala radar station located in north-west Azerbaijan was built during the Soviet period as one of the most important elements of the USSR's missile defence system. After Azerbaijan gained independence the radar station become the country's property and Russia continued its use.
Previously, the defence ministry reported it was holding negotiations with Azerbaijan to extend the lease of the Gabala radar station until 2025. The terms of the lease agreement and exploitation conditions of this facility expire in December, 2012.