Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, July 25, 2017. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS

ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki discussed supplies of Russian T-90 battle tanks at a meeting in St Petersburg on Tuesday, according to a Russian military official present at the meeting.

Russia’s Izvestia newspaper cited the Kremlin last week as saying Iraq had agreed to buy a “big” order of the tanks, which have been used in the Syria conflict.

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

When asked if the deal was discussed on Tuesday, Dmitry Shugaev, head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, said: “It was touched upon.”