Deeper defence cooperation was the focus of the bilateral meeting between Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan and Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on the sidelines of DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar Tuesday, the newspaper added.

The meeting comes weeks after the reported purchase of the Indian multi-barrel Pinaka launchers, anti-tank rockets, and other range of ammunitions by Armenia. According to The Print, the anti-tank rockets are Konkurs anti-tank guided missiles and other munitions include a wide variety of ammunition including 80-mm mortars.

“Sources in the government remained tight-lipped about what transpired during the bilateral meeting with the Armenian minister but maintained that “defence cooperation was the focus”. The Centre has been wary of speaking on the defence cooperation with Armenia because of the ongoing tensions with Azerbaijan, a country that Turkey and Pakistan support. However, sources told that Armenia has been considering the possible procurement of the indigenous Akash air defence systems. It is also looking at arming itself with loitering munitions developed in India by private companies like Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) and Solar Industries. As reported by ThePrint earlier, Azerbaijan is seen by many as part of an emerging axis with Turkey and Pakistan. It has used Turkish drones to fight the war against Armenia and is also in talks with Pakistan to buy the JF-17 fighter aircraft,” The Print reported.