On 17 August, the Armenian Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoygu in order to discuss bilateral military cooperation between the two countries. They also agreed on fresh arms deals, reported the Armenian Radio Free Europe.

The information was confirmed by the spokesperson of the Armenian Defense Ministry Artsrun Hovannisyan. “Davit Tonoyan and Sergey Shoygu reached a number of important agreements on the implementation of bilateral military, military-political and military-technical programs,” Hovannisyan wrote on his Facebook page. However, he did not specify what kind of agreements were signed between the two sides.

At the meeting, Shoygu highlighted the contribution of Armenian troops to the provision of humanitarian aid to Syria. At the moment, more than 80 Armenian demining experts, army medics and other military personnel are serving in Syria in close coordination with the Russian military. “This is a huge work that cannot be overlooked and which contributes to the normalization of the situation in this region,” he said.

Expressing satisfaction with the current level of relations and underscoring the strategic and federative nature of those relations, the defense ministers attached importance to the consistent enhancement of cooperation in the sectors of joint combat preparation, operational planning, military instruction, strengthening of the combat readiness of the 102nd military base of the Russian Federation and in several other sectors. Issues on regional and international security were also discussed.

On 22 July, Tonoyan confirmed that the Armenian army bought four Su-30SM combat airplanes from Russia. He also announced that more “military surprises” could be expected when it comes to Armenia’s activities on the arms market (Caucasus Watch reported).