The purchase of any weapons affects the balance of forces in the region, RA Minister of Defense Seyran Ohanyan said in an interview with RFE/RL, commenting on the reports on Russia’s sale of two batteries of S-300 air-defense systems to Azerbaijan.

“On the other hand, I should note that the purchase of S-300 systems cannot directly affect the balance of forces between Armenia and Azerbaijan. In any case, Azerbaijan cannot effectively use them against the Armenian army because we are much better acquainted with the system. We have operated it for a long time and know the ways of reducing its effectiveness,” Minister Ohanyan said.

As to whether the Armenian side raised the issue during the recent Armenian-Russian talks and informed the Russian side of its concerns, considering the fact of Armenia and Russia being allies within the CSTO, Ohanyan said: “Since no official statement was made no official discussions were held. Numerous issues related to consolidation of the politico-military alliance were on the agenda of the latest visit, and it was inadvisable to start a discussion of the problem.”

As regards an impact the deal may have on Russian-Armenian relations, Minister Ohanyan said that the deal “will not affect Armenian-Russian relations, as we are strategic partners, members of one politico-military system. Our cooperation is rather close and we are ready for mutual assistance in performing any security-related tasks.”