MEDIA-Russia strikes big deal to supply tanks to Iraq - Izvestia @ 7/20/2017 1:31:18 PM

* Iraq to buy Russia's T-90 main battle tanks which have proven their reliability during the Syria conflict, the Izvestia newspaper wrote on Thursday, citing the Kremlin and a military analyst;

* "The contract is for a tidy sum and for a large batch, I can't name the definite sum. The number of (tanks) is big," Kremlin aide Vladimir Kozhin told the daily;

* Russian military analyst Ruslan Pukhov told Izvestia the deal might cover deliveries of several hundred T-90 tanks, and that the contract may exceed $1 billion,

* Iraq was a big buyer of Soviet-era and Russian weapons when it was ruled by Saddam Hussein. After his toppling in 2003, the country began buying U.S.-made Abrams tanks;

* Russian tank deal will allow Iraq to ease its dependence on U.S. suppliers, said analyst Pukhov. -- Source link: https://iz.ru/621346/egor-sozaev-gurev/v-kremle-podtverdili-prodazhu-t-90-iraku

-- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy.

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