...

Russia: Defensive arms not to destabilize South Caucasus

Politics Materials 19 August 2010 10:56 (UTC +04:00)
Russia will never supply arms to a country if they could jeopardize the stability of an entire region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today while commenting on the possible sale of S-300 systems to Azerbaijan.
Russia: Defensive arms not to destabilize South Caucasus

Russia will never supply arms to a country if they could jeopardize the stability of an entire region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today while commenting on the possible sale of S-300 systems to Azerbaijan.

These arms will not destabilize the situation, Lavrov said in an interview with the Armenian Public Television Channel.

Some experts believe that Russia's possible supply of the S-300 systems to Azerbaijan or Armenia could destabilize the regional situation. However, S-300 systems are used only in defense to protect one's own country from missile attacks, Lavrov said.

According to media, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry and Rosoboronexport allegedly signed a contract to deliver two S-300PMU-2 Favorit (SA-20b Gargoyle b) battalions. Rosoboronexport later denied this information.

"Regarding Russia, we supply S-300 systems, as well as any other type of weapons, in accordance with international law, our international obligations in this sphere, as well as domestic law on the supervision over exports," Lavrov said.

He added that the worries of experts should be addressed, but the fact remains that Russia is only planning to supply defensive weapons according to international agreements.

"I would not look for a destabilizing factor in these shipments," Lavrov said.

Tags:
Latest

Latest