The Economic Times: India considering supply of fresh batch of military equipment to Armenia

YEREVAN, October 27. /ARKA/. India is mulling over supplying a fresh batch of military equipment to Armenia, its strategic ally in the Caucasus, after the successful delivery of the first batch of weapons over the past year, reports the Indian daily The Economic Times.

It says a senior Armenian official visited Delhi recently and held discussions in this regard. According to the daily, India has emerged as a credible weapons supplier.

The latest delivery of Indian weapons to Armenia included Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launchers, anti-tank missiles and ammunition. The arms shipments were reportedly routed through Iran, which has historical ties with Armenia. Azerbaijan protested the shipments.

Earlier this year, India, Iran and Armenia teamed up to explore a transportation corridor during a meeting in Yerevan in April. The three sides discussed economic projects and regional communication channels, outlined prospects for deepening cultural and people-to-people contacts as well as trilateral cooperation in various fields.

It was decided to "continue consultations" in this format. The trilateral meeting also discussed the use of the North-South transport corridor.

Andranik Kocharyan, chairman of Armenia's parliamentary committee on defense and security issues, said recently that the new weapons delivered to Armenia are currently being tested by the Armenian military and the results are 'very satisfactory', -0-