Russia Deploys MiG-29 Fighters, Bombers And Mi-8MT Helicopter To Armenia Base

Moscow has deployed four MiG-29 fighter jets, modernized MiG-29S bombers and a Mi-8MT transport helicopter to Russia's airbase in Armenia near the border with Turkey.

Located at Erebuni airport outside the capital, Yerevan, the Russian base already has nine fourth-generation MiG-29 planes capable of carrying a payload of up to 4,000 kilograms of weapons. The aircraft also have larger fuel tanks; Russian Defense Ministry was quoted as saying in a statement by Press TV last Saturday.

The announcement came a day after a Russian draft resolution that called for an immediate end to Turkey's shelling and military actions against Syria was turned down at the United Nations Security Council.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Russia expresses "regret that this draft resolution was rejected," and that Moscow considers the cross-border shelling carried out by Turkey as "unacceptable."

According to a Kremlin statement, President Vladimir Putin on Friday held a 'detailed discussion of the situation in Syria particularly due to the escalation in tensions on the Syrian-Turkish border' with his security council.

The Kremlin spokesman also underlined that Russia would go on assisting Syrian armed forces "in their offensive actions against terrorists, against terrorist organizations."

The Russian involvement aims to provide "stability in the fight with terrorism, to preserve the territorial integrity of the country (Syria) and the region," Peskov stated.