The Moscow Times says that Russia has begun delivering tanks, artillery cannons and rocket launchers worth $1 billion to Azerbaijan.

In a June 18 article, the newspaper quotes Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow based defense think tank CAST, that t he arms package, signed in a series of contracts between 2011 and 2012, includes nearly 100 T-90C tanks, Smerch and TOS-1A multiple rocket launchers and Msta-A and Vena artillery cannons.

The newspaper also refers to a source at the Russian Defense Ministry who said that the order had been on hold for some time to avoid upsetting the military balance in the South Caucasus, but the deal had been pushed through at the behest of Russia's powerful arms industry, he said.

A spokesman at Russia's state arms exporter Rosoboronexport was unavailable for comment.

Russia has almost completed deliveries of a previous, larger package, estimated by CAST as worth $2 billion to $3 billion and including S-300 missile systems and attack helicopters. Azerbaijan has also announced a $1.6 billion arms deal with Israel.

Although political and defense analysts doubt Azerbaijan has any immediate appetite for war, it has increased its military spending in recent years. Aliyev has said spending on defense will reach $3.7 billion this year.