Russian general comments on Gabala RS lease issue

The possible refusal of Russia to lease the Azerbaijani Gabala radar station missile warning system will not cause damage to the security of the Russian state, commander of the aerospace defence of Russia, Lieutenant-General Oleg Ostapenko said on Wednesday, ITAR-TASS reported.

"At this stage, even if we give up this Qabala station, we will do it in such a way as not to cause damage to our state, its security and defence. It is our goal" the commander said, explaining that the new Voronezh type early warning stations operating in decimetre and meter bands will be more than decent compensation for the Gabala radar station.

"With regard to the station in Armavir, then it can solve the problems which were solved by the Gabala radar station and to solve them, even at an even higher level," Ostapenko said. When asked whether the Armavir radar station exceeds the Gabala radar station in parameters, the commander replied: "Definitely."

He did not give a direct answer to the question about the situation of Russian-Azerbaijani talks on the Gabala radar station, saying: "I'm not going to say anything in detail with regard to the Gabala station. The decision will be taken and we will work in accordance with it."
A recent award bestowed on a group of Voronezh radar project managers by the State Prize of the Russian Federation was "no accidental", he said in this regard.

However, the commander acknowledged that the Gabala radar could still serve the interests of Russia. "Any facility that performs some specific task perhaps, would be in demand," General Ostapenko said.


/Trend/