More Russian arms reach Azerbaijan as part of an arms deal signed off in 2010 worth $5 billion. At the end of June 2017 around 12 9K123 Khrizantema (Rus. Хризантема) armoured vehicles carrying guided anti-tank missiles were loaded off a special cargo ship on the Caspian.
Similar arms and weapon systems will be delivered by the end of 2018. The arms transfer was highly criticised by the Armenian Defence Minister Vigen Sargsyan as a dangerous move that destabilises the region.
What is more probable is that selling arms to Baku seems like the only way the Kremlin has left to court Azerbaijan, as the country has been lenient towards the west for more than a decade. As 80% of the military equipment the Azeri Armed Forces use are Russian-made, both seem to be dependent on one another for arms supplies.
