The delivery of the Bal-E coastal missile system to the armed forces of Azerbaijan has failed due to the position of the Russian Defense Ministry, Kommersant reports.

The Russian military reportedly believes that even an export modification of the missile of the complex in question could pose a potential threat to the ships of the Caspian flotilla of the Russian Navy located in the Russian territorial waters.

Bal-E is an export version of the coastal missile complex Bal, employed by the Russian army since 2008.

The issue of Bal-E supplies to the armed forces of Azerbaijan is not being discussed now, another high-ranking source said citing “a very delicate geopolitical nuance”.

In recent years, the homing head of Kh-35 missiles has been modernized to destroy not only marine, but also ground targets.

"We would not like this weapon to be used in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict," the source said.