MOSCOW. July 18 (Interfax) - The authorities of Syria and Iraq are interested in Russian arms supply but no new contracts have been signed as of yet, head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Alexander Fomin said in an interview published by the newspaper Izvestia.
"These countries have needs, especially the need for expendable supplies, such as ammunition, and armaments - lightly armored vehicles, tanks and anti-tank weapons. On the other hand, these countries obviously have problems with financing. They need supplies. But there are no new contracts," Fomin said.
Syria and Iraq "are engaged in rather serious efforts fighting terrorist organizations," he said, adding that "the Syrian Armed Forces and the Iraqi army have made tangible progress."
"Libya also has needs [...] but, regretfully, there is no state there. There are two governments, parliaments. What is more, Libya is under the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council. Any deliveries there will require permission. Requests are made, but there are sanctions," he said.
Speaking of the influence of escalated tensions in Karabakh on military-technical cooperation with Yerevan and Baku, Fomin said, "I would not put it this way, whether or not relations between particular countries have impact on our military-technical cooperation with them."
"Certain parity exists," he said.
"Russia is trying to maintain parity in absolute terms and in terms of quantity and quality of main armament systems. The system of Russia's military-technical cooperation is such that it intends to do no harm, including, in a specific region. Any decision we make about supplies to a particular country takes into account the existence of acute situations in the region. One cannot say that we are waiting whether or not tensions will escalate. There is certain parity, and we believe that conflicts should not be resolved by means of weapons," he said.