On 3 December, the Haqqin.az news agency, referring to the military-specific website "AzeriDefence", reported that the French company "MBDA Systems" would supply the air defense systems "ASTER 30 SAMP / T" and "VL Mica" to Azerbaijan.
"The French government gave us permission to export these systems to Azerbaijan. The negotiations with the Azerbaijani side about the purchase of these systems will be completed in the near future, "said a company spokesman in an interview with" AzeriDefence ". According to him, the Azerbaijani military is already familiar with the systems and satisfied with their performance. "We believe that these systems will enable Azerbaijan to ensure reliable air defenses," he added.
The Russian military expert, Alexander Khrolenko, commented on the alleged agreement between Paris and Baku with the statement that Moscow would accept this news calmly. Since these are defense systems, this development does not raise serious concerns in Russia.
Professor of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, Vadim Kozyulin, sees the proposed arms deal between France and Azerbaijan more critically: By buying air defense systems (and missile defense systems) from France, Azerbaijan would "hand over a piece of his air space to the French military."
On December 4, US Department of Defense Adviser Laura Cooper visited Azerbaijan and met with President Aliyev and Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov. During both meetings, satisfaction with bilateral military relations was expressed. The US official particularly highlighted Azerbaijan's participation in counter-terrorism and the military service of Azerbaijani soldiers within the Afghanistan mission. The Azerbaijani experts do not rule out that Azerbaijan will conclude arms deals with the US in the future. This issue was discussed openly by US National Security Advisor John Bolton during his Caucasus trip in October. Bolton said in Azerbaijan and Armenia that the United States was interested in selling arms to these countries.
Azerbaijan's traditional arms suppliers are Russia, Israel, Belarus, Turkey and Pakistan. However, Baku is working to establish military-technical cooperation with European countries as well. For example, Azerbaijan acquired the self-propelled guns "DANA" and the multi-missile launchers RM-70 "Vampires" from Czech manufacturers and had them modernized by Israel. In addition, Azerbaijan began cooperation with the Italian military and industrial group "Leonardo". In June 2018, an article appeared in the "Stern", according to which the German arms company "Rheinmetall" has signed a letter of intent to cooperate with Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, as well as Armenia, was put under an arms embargo by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). This was imposed in 1992, when bloody fighting broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia around the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The company commented on the news as follows: "Our cooperation agreement states that Azerbaijan will be offered services and products that are not covered by the arms embargo".
