Russian State Duma Ratifies Regional Air Defense System Agreement with Armenia

YEREVAN (Armradio) — The Russian State Duma has ratified an agreement between Armenia and Russia on the creation of a Regional Air Defense System in the Caucasian region. The document was submitted for consideration by Russian President Vladimir Putin, TASS reports.

Russia and Armenia signed the agreement in Moscow on December 23, 2015. The document stipulates “the establishment of a regional Unified Air Defense System as part of the of CIS Unified Anti-Air Defense System.”

The main task of the system is to “set up and maintain air defense combat duty in the Caucasus region, keep the battle management system, the weaponry and the military hardware of the Unified Air Defense System on alert, cooperate with the forces of other regional air defense systems,” an explanatory note says.

In peacetime, the member states’ defense ministries are supposed to draw up plans for the combined use of the troops, their joint air defense combat duties, as well as operational and combat training.

Armenia’s Parliament ratified the agreement at the end of June.