Russia sold twice as many weapons abroad in 2012 as in the previous year. It now has a portfolio of $37 billion in foreign orders and continues to sell anti-aircraft systems to Syria, a senior arms trade executive told reporters Wednesday.
Although India is still the country's No. 1 weaponry client, sales continue to Syria, Anatoly Isaikin, the head of Rosoboronexport, said at a news conference Wednesday at the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
Isaikin spoke ahead of the IDEX defense industry expo in Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, which starts next week. Dozens of Russian companies are expected to show their products there to buyers from Gulf countries and the rest of Middle East.
Arms sales to Syria include anti-aircraft missiles and spare parts,not aviation equipment, he added.
The sale of spare parts to Syria came into the spotlight in October, when a civilian airliner carrying spare military parts was stopped at the Istanbul airport.
Russia, which denied the fact that the plane had any munitions on board, said later that the plane was delivering parts for an anti-aircraft radar.
Note EU-Digest: The top 5 arms exporters in the World are 1) USA, 2) Russia, 3) Germany, 4) France and 5) Britain
Read more: Russian Arms Sales Double as Sales to Syria Continue | Business | The Moscow Times
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