Israel halts weaponry supplies to Azerbaijan at Russia’s request

PanARMENIAN.Net - Israeli Foreign Ministry introduced certain amendments to an arms supply deal with Azerbaijan at Russia's request. According to ISN Swiss news agency, the supply of certain offensive weaponry will be halted, with Israeli officials unwilling to comment on the report.

As an international relations expert Martin Piotrowski said, Russia's request was prompted by unwillingness to change the balance of forces in the region.

Azerbaijan is one of the major importers of Israeli-made weapon, with a $1,5 billion armament supply deal inked in 2012, haqqin.az said.

Also, in summer 2013, delivery of Russian-made defense hardware to Azerbaijan started under the 2011-2012 deals.

Total value of the weaponry including military vehicles and missile defense systems to be supplied might amount to $1 billion.

According to Russian political analyst Alexander Krylov, weaponry supplies to Azerbaijan allow Russia to preserve influence over Baku, curbing the latter's armament purchases in the international market.