Armenia has no arms purchase deal with Ukraine, Defense Ministry spokesperson says

Azerbaijani side is again spreading misinformation, spokesman for Armenia's Defense Minister Artsrun Hovhannissyan told Tert.am, commenting on the Azerbaijani anspress news agency's publication about Ukraine having secret deal of export of arms to Armenia.
 
The article says the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, Major-General Sergei Gmyza sent a letter to President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych explaining the ways of arms supplies to Armenia under a contract between Ukrspetsexport and DG Arms Corporation. By the way, the article says the mediator of the deal is Armenian Defense Ministry.
 
According to the letter, Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry received information about the contract between the Ukrspetsexport and DG Arms Corporation to supply 12 units of Smerch multiple rocket launching systems and their components, 50 Igla MANPADS, as well as the fact that Armenia has already paid 50 percent of contract value.
 
The letter offers to use front companies registered in EU and CIS for supplies.
 
"Not wanting to jeopardize the military-technical and energy cooperation between Azerbaijan and Ukraine, Ukrspetsexport is invited to “publicly renounce the fact of an agreement with the Armenian side. At the same time the Armenian company is offered to simulate the appeal to arbitration, the spread among its environment of sharply negative attitude to the leadership of Ukrspetsexport and the Ukrainian side, as an unreliable supplier. At the same time head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry proposed to carry out the delivery of Smerch sets in a conspiracy from the territory of Moldova, using front companies registered in the EU or the CIS. Marking on the products this should be changed, and in the case of disclosure of fraud to conceal origin of Igla MANPADS by warehouses in Libya, looted by rebels of the liberation movement," the anspress news agency wrote.
 
Spokesman for the Armenian defense minister said, "Armenia always publishes about its arms acquisitions, and they [Azerbaijan], in their turn, excellently publish misinformation as part of information war."
 
Recently, Russian international arms trade think tank has published the list of leading arms importing countries as well as the sums they spend on arms acquisition. Though the leaders are India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan has been included in the list of countries going to noticeably increase the import of arms in 2012-2015 as compared with 2008-2011. Among these countries are Finland, Thailand, Syria, Italy.
 
The reports of the UN Register of Conventional Arms say Azerbaijan took important steps for strengthening the military airpark over the last 10 years.
 
APA news agency reported that in 2001-2011, Baku strengthened its aviation park with new warplanes, combat helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
 
According to reports presented by the purchasing and selling countries, Azerbaijan bought 47 warplanes and 109 helicopters from various countries over the last 10 years. Azerbaijan included more than 30 unmanned aerial vehicles to the armament of the Armed Forces.
During analysis of reports, Azerbaijan bought warplanes from 4 countries – Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Georgia, helicopters – from Russia and Ukraine, UAV's from Israeli and local enterprises.
 
Later anspress reported that the Ukrainian embassy in Azerbaijan released a statement over the secret deal of export of arms to Armenia, claiming that the letter ascribed to the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry is nothing but a provocation aimed to harm the traditional friendly relations between Ukraine and Azerbaijan.   Read more... (589 words)

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