Armenia joins Russian-Belarusian joint defense venture
Armenia has signed an agreement to join the Defensive Systems of Russian-Belarusian Interstate Financial and Industrial Group, TASS reported.
"Armenia joined the intergovernmental Russian-Belarusian agreement of February 11th, 2000 on the establishment of a ‘Defensive Systems Interstate Financial and Industrial Group. The main purpose of the establishment of such a group is the use of its participants scientific, technical, industrial, and investment potentials for the creation and production of competitive high-technology in the world market and of civil and dual-purpose product samples,” the organization announced in a statement.
The Group noted that Armenia gives importance to the preservation and the development of relations with Russia and Belarus. At the same time, Yerevan expects to take advantage of the group’s opportunities, since this new addition "will help strengthen the defensive capabilities of the Republic."
According to Armenian Defense Minister Vigen Sargsyan, the development of various military technologies for Armenia’s own needs is ongoing in the Republic. Some of those technologies have already been presented at prestigious international exhibitions of arms and military equipment.
"We have been recently placing more and more importance on industrial cooperation. We are focusing our work on the inclusion of a number of Armenian military-industrial complex enterprises into the Defense Systems of Russian-Belarusian Interstate Financial and Industrial Group," Sargasyan stated.
The Defense Minister believes that the "development of Armenian-Russian cooperation, aimed at creating certified service centers and joint ventures for the maintenance and repair of Russian-manufactured arms and military equipment in Armenia, is very promising."
In June, the Armenian Parliament ratified the government’s decision to combine its air defense system with that of Russia. Last month, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it was planning to create a joint force comprised of Russian and Armenian servicemen to serve in the Caucasus.