ArmInfo. Russia's Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin holds no information about the launch of Russian-Azerbaijani missile production.
"I hold no such information. But I can say that Iskander missile systems and cruise missiles are absolutely different things. I do not know what links there may be here. But I am unaware of this. Maybe, the Azerbaijani side holds such information," Ambassador Volynkin told reporters in Yerevan, when commenting on the Azerbaijani media reports about the launch of Russian-Azerbaijani missile production. The information was disseminated in the Azeri media after Iskander systems were showcased at the military parade in Yerevan on September 21.
To note, the military parade dedicated to the 25th Independence Anniversary of Armenia and the advanced weapons showcased during it raised hysteria in Azerbaijan. According to Azerbaijani media, Azerbaijani President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev, charged the Defense Ministry leadership to meet on September 21. "Analyzing the military-political situation in the region, ministry officials paid special attention to strengthening all types of intelligence to identify new targets on the territory controlled by the enemy, assessing their significance and determining the sequence of their destruction, and strengthening mutual coordination between the Land Forces, Air Force, Rocket and artillery troops, Special Forces, and other types of troops," the Defense Ministry reported. "Taking into account the potential danger of any military threat to Azerbaijan, Defense Minister, Colonel- General Zakir Hasanov instructed the country's Armed Forces to strengthen control over all the military and strategic facilities in the enemy- controlled territories and be prepared to immediately destroy these targets if necessary. Minister Hasanov emphasized that the missile-artillery systems at the disposal of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces allow the army to execute these tasks with high accuracy."
The independence military parade in Yerevan featured military hardware that included Iskander short-range ballistic missile systems, Buk and other modernized surface-to-air missile systems, Smerch heavy multiple rocket launchers, as well as drones and Mi-29 and Su-25 planes, Soviet-era Scud-B and Tochka-U systems, Infauna electronic warfare vehicles, S-300 missile systems, WM-80, MRLS, columns of tanks mounted on heavy military trucks, armored vehicles and others.