Russia to start shipping arms to Armenia under $100mln loan in 2018

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russia will begin supplying arms to Armenia under a new defense loan agreement worth $100 million in 2018, deputy director of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Vladimir Drozhzhov told reporters on Thursday, March 29, according to RIA Novosti.

Speaking at ArmHiTec-2018, an international exhibition of arms and defence technologies currently underway in Yerevan, the Russian official said the delivery is slated for this year.

Armenian defense minister Vigen Sargsyan said earlier that Yerevan intends to acquire weapons of "strategic deterrence" from Moscow with the new loan.

In December 2017, Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan signed the law on the ratification of the agreement on the $100 million defense loan with a maturity of 15 years.

Besides, in June 2015, an agreement was signed to provide Armenia a state export credit worth $200 million to purchase Russian-made military products. 18 contracts were signed within the framework of the loan, Armenia’s defense ministry reportedly said.