Russia to sell S-300 defense systems to Azerbaijan

Russia has agreed to deliver S-300 air defense systems to Azerbaijan, leading Russian business daily Vedomosti said on Thursday.

Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport signed an agreement with the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry on the supply of two S-300PMU-2 Favorit (SA-20b Gargoyle b) batallions last year, a top manager of a company producing S-300 components told Vedomosti.

According to Trend the contract is already being implemented and is expected to be fulfilled within a year or two, he said.

A Rosoboronexport official has refused to comment on the report, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's spokesman, Azer Kasymov, said he has no information on the issue, the paper said.

The deal, worth at least $300 million, is the most expensive single purchase of weapons by a former Soviet state.