Moscow: Russian Foreign Ministry has just copy of Azerbaijan's note of protest

 Maria Zakharova, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said at a daily briefing on February 25 that the Foreign Ministry still has not received the original note of protest by Azerbaijan over arms supply to Armenia.

"At present, we have just a copy of that document that was emailed to the Foreign Ministry on February 24," Zakharova said explaining that it is a traditional procedure of cooperation with partners.  "We should work with original documents," he said.

"We already informed the Azerbaijani side via diplomatic channels that Russia and Armenia are connected by allied relations and develop military-technical cooperation as well," Zakharova said.

"This is a well-known fact. We cooperate without hiding anything - transparently and openly. We hope that Azerbaijan will treat this fact with understanding," she added noting that Moscow takes into account all risks in the region when it supplies weapons.

"We carry out any supplies of weapons to Armenia as well as friendly Azerbaijan with a meticulous consideration of the need to maintain the balance of forces in the region," she added.  The diplomat said Russia fulfills its international commitments concerns arms supplies and acts strictly in line with the national system of export control. 
Asked if such allegations by Azerbaijan is interference with the internal affairs of two sovereign states- Armenia and Russia, Zakharova said that the military-technical cooperation is a delicate and sensitive issue for neighbor-states. Therefore, Russia works openly and transparently and provides the necessary information to Azerbaijan through diplomatic channels. 

Under the agreement on provision of a 200 mln USD loan to Armenia, the Armenian armed forces will acquire "Smerch" multiple artillery rocket systems with ammunition, "Igla-S" surface-to-air missile systems, "Avtobaza-M" passive signals-intelligence systems, TOS-1A "Solntsepyok" flame throwers, "Tigr" all-terrain infantry mobility vehicles, "Konkurs-M" anti-tank missile systems, RPG-26 anti-tank rocket launchers, KamAZes, as well as communications equipment and engineering equipment. 
The loan is provided on preferential terms. The country will be redeeming the loan in Russian rubles at 3% p.a.  starting from 2018 within 10 years. The advance payment will make up 10%. Given the continuous depreciation of the Russian ruble, as well as the country's CSTO membership, which makes it possible to purchase weapons at the prices valid inside Russia, the Armenian parties to the conflict can spend the 200 mln USD on a certain quantity of Russian weapons.  
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that it has sent a protest note to Moscow in connection with the arms deal that will be financed with a $200 million Russian loan allocated to Yerevan last year.