Russia grants $200 million loan to Armenia for purchasing weapons

The Russian government and the Armenian authorities have signed an agreement providing a ten-year state export loan to Armenia with the payment deferral until early 2018, Russian media inform, quoting a report on the official legal data portal.

“The Russian side is providing the Armenian side with a state export loan of up to $200 million for financing the delivery of Russian military products in line with the list contained in Appendix No1 to this agreement,” the report said.

According to the Appendix, Armenia will buy Russian Smerch rocket launchers and ammunition, Igla-S air defense missile systems, Avtobaza-M ground-based radar jamming and deception systems, the TOS-1A heavy flame-throwing systems with transporter-loader vehicles, 9M113M guided missiles, RPG-26 grenade launchers, Dragunov sniper rifles, Tiger armored vehicles, engineering means and communication systems.

The list may be adjusted with the mutual written consent of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation and the Armenian Defense Ministry, the report said. Armenia will spend the loan on funding up to 90 percent of the cost of each contract for the delivery of military products, with the settlements to be done in Russian rubles. Upfront payments will amount to at least 10 percent of the cost of each contract and will provided done by the Armenian side to Russian authorized entities in Russian rubles.