According to www.globalrus.ru, during the visit of Robert Kocharyan to Moscow the main topic for discussion with the Russian president was the gas issue. The news agency writes that the gas price was increased by almost twice at the beginning of this year, however it doesn’t have an influence on the Armenian economy and citizens due to the fact that its difference was reimbursed with weapons.
The Russian news agency even states concrete figures and prices of the amount of weapons supplied to Armenia and writes that the total sum of the weapons supplied to Armenia will cover $26 million by the end of this year. Based on this information the reporter assumes that the gas factor is not used by Russia to pressre countries in the region and manipulate them, but rather to balance power in the region (as well as among the conflicting countries). The reporter writes that Azerbaijan is improving its military capacity very fast and has increased its military budget by $3 billion. By the way, Americans play a big role in that process. In a word, the Russian reporter writes that the fact that Russia is compensating the gas price difference by supplying weapons is more than justified and reasonable.