Russia provides $200 million in weapons to the Armenian army

According to Reuters, Moscow has pledged to lend Armenia $200 million to buy Russian weapons and modernize its armed forces.

Russian army armored vehicles. (Source: AFP/VNA)

Speaking to the Armenian Parliament, Deputy Defense Minister Ara Nazaryan said: "We are about to receive weapons that the Armenian armed forces have never used before. The Armenian armed forces will have new modern weapons, which will significantly affect the balance of forces in the region."

However, the official did not specify what type of weapons Armenia would purchase.

Located adjacent to NATO member Turkey, Armenia is Russia's number one ally in the sensitive South Caucasus region with many crisscrossing gas pipelines.

Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov implicitly warned the West when talking about a plot to incite an uprising in Armenia's capital Yerevan, which has witnessed protests against energy price hikes for more than 10 days.

In a related development on the same day, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the area where the military alliance is about to build a base in Romania.

Mr. Stoltenberg said that NATO saw no "imminent threat," a statement that showed an effort to reassure NATO member countries near Russia./

(According to AFP/VN+)