Azernews.Az

The Defense Ministers of Russia and Azerbaijan on Thursday discussed the joint work over prolongation of the Gabala radar lease agreement to 2025, Lieutenant-Colonel Irina Kovalchuk, Press Secretary of the Defense Minister of Russia, told journalists on Thursday.

Bilateral meeting of the Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov and his Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev was conducted following a meeting of the CIS Council of Defense Ministers in Almaty, RIA Novosti reported.

"They agreed (at the meeting) to intensify work to shortly agree upon and prepare for signing a document strengthening accords between the Russian and Azerbaijani Defense Ministries over this issue," Kovalchuk said.

The validity period of the Gabala radar lease agreement expires on December 24, 2012.

The Gabala radar station, located in northwestern Azerbaijan, was built during the Soviet times as one of the key elements of the USSR’s missile defense system. After Azerbaijan gained independence and became owner of the radar station, Russia continued to operate the facility.

The radar station allows to track territory spanning 6,000 km, including Iran, Turkey, India, the Middle East, as well as the Indian Ocean and a part of the Australian continent. The early warning equipment would immediately track mid-range missiles with nuclear warheads potentially launched from these territories.