Russia abandons Azerbaijan’s Gabala radar stationDecember 11, 2012 - 12:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The Russian army is giving up the Gabala radar it leased in Azerbaijan because of a disagreement over rental price, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, Dec 10., RIA Novosti reported. Russia informed the Azerbaijani authorities about the pullout on Monday, the ministry said in a statement. The lease, signed in 2002, was valid until December 24, 2012. Moscow and Baku have been in talks about prolonging the lease on Gabala until 2025 for more than a year. The current lease stood at $7 million a year, but Azeri authorities wanted to hike it to $300 million, Russian daily Kommersant said in February. Neither Russia nor Azerbaijan made any official comment on the lease prices being discussed, though an official of the Azeri presidential administration, Novruz Mamedov, told local news agency Trend on Monday that the current price was "symbolic" and that Gabala will be made into a resort instead. Russia will replace the Gabala radar, a crucial element of its missile defense system, with a new station in Armavir in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region, then-commander of Russia’s Space Forces, Oleg Ostapenko, said in September. The Gabala station, which has a staff of 1,100, is capable of tracking missile launches and trajectories over the territories of Iran, Turkey, China, Pakistan, India, Iraq and Australia, as well as most of Africa and parts of Indian and Atlantic oceans. The Russian military said that its new Voronezh-type radars will have comparable range while utilizing better equipment than the Gabala radar, opened in 1983. One Voronezh radar is already deployed in Armavir and another is set to be added by 2013. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Pashinyan: Armenia’s desired goal is “on the horizon” Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Armenia is moving forward “without interruption”. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. |