Turkey becomes more dependent on Russia due to Idlib
Ankara has not reacted to large Russian arms shipments to Armenia as Turkey’s current priority is preserving security cooperation with Russia in Syria, particularly in Idlib.
Last week, Russia quietly began delivering large-scale weapons shipments worth $200 million to Armenia as agreed upon between the two countries in 2015. Armenia is set to pay for the deliveries over 13 years with 3% interest.
"State-of-the-art Russian weapons have been completely supplied under a $200 million credit. Some types of such weapons are used in the Russian army," Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan said after the first batch was delivered.
Under the agreement, the purchase includes 90-kilometer-range (56-mile) BM-30 Smerch multiple rocket launchers, SA-24 Igla-S MANPADs, Avtobaza-M ground-based radio reconnaissance systems, RPG-26 rocket launchers, SVD Dragunov sniper rifles, grenade launchers, rifles and various types of munitions.
Strategic military relations between Russia and Armenia are not new. Armenia is Russia’s sole military ally in the south Caucasus. The 102nd Russian Military Base at Gyumri is Russia’s only military base in the region.
