YEREVAN \u2014 Moscow is to give Armenia a $200 million loan to purchase sophisticated Russian weapons at a discount, officials in Yerevan said on Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Armenia, which hosts a Russian military base, has been shaken by nearly two weeks of protests over plans by a Russian-owned company to hike electricity prices in the small Caucasus country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Armenia’s deputy defense minister Ara Nazaryan told a parliament session that Russia would provide Yerevan with a 13-year loan of $200 million (\u20ac180 million) at a 3 percent interest rate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The money will be spent to purchase modern Russian weapons at a discount in 2015-2017, he said before the parliament ratified the credit agreement with Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But some opposition politicians in Armenia criticized the deal, claiming the Kremlin was pulling Yerevan into an arms race with foe Azerbaijan, which bought $1 billion worth of tanks, artillery cannons and rocket launchers from Moscow in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Russia is selling super-modern weapons to Armenia’s enemy Azerbaijan and thus is dragging Armenia into an arms race,” opposition Heritage party lawmaker Zaruhi Postanjyan said in parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Armenia is now forced to take a Russian loan to restore military balance in the region,” she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been locked in a longstanding conflict over the disputed Nagorny Karabakh region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yerevan-backed ethnic Armenian separatists seized Karabakh from Baku during the 1990s conflict that left some 30,000 dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite years of negotiations, Azerbaijan and Armenia have not signed a final peace deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The predominantly Armenian-populated region is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some in Armenia see the Russian loan as a concession after nearly two weeks of protests in a country where former master Russia owns some of the most prized assets including the power distribution firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both Armenian activists and President Serzh Sarkisian denied the rallies against a planned hike in electricity prices were anti-Russian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But grievances against Moscow have long been building and rippled to the surface during the rallies which started on June 19 but have largely died down by now, observers say.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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