By  Trend

Russia’s handing over the Iskander missile systems to Armenia can bring additional threats to the region, says Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defense analyst and columnist for Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta.

“Supply of those missile systems to Armenia changes the balance in the region,” believes the expert.

“Perhaps, Russia will sell such systems to Azerbaijan in order to ensure the balance,” added Felgenhauer.

The expert says Iskander is a high-precision weapon, but this precision demands good satellite or aerial digital photos of the target.

“It is not clear which type of the Iskander systems was delivered to Armenia,” said the analyst, noting that Russia hasn’t dismissed Armenia’s claims about the transfer of the weapon, but didn’t provide details on the issue.

Felgenhauer said that probably Armenia has received Iskander-E export modification, which is worse and has a shorter range as compared to Iskander-M which is produced for Russia only.

He pointed out that Iskander-M can’t be handed over to a third party, according to Russia’s international commitments on non-proliferation of ballistic missiles with a range of over 300 kilometers.