Epress.am News from Armenia
Despite the recent scandal over the arms deal between Moldova and Armenia, the Moldovan authorities are preparing to send the remaining consignment of arms and ammunition to Yerevan, Moldovan defense minister Vitalie Marinuţa told the press following a hearing at the Parliamentary Commission on National Security, Defense and Public Order, reports Moldnews.
He called on lawmakers to rely on facts and legal documents and not on media reports. However, Marinuţa was confident that the arms deal will be brought to an end.
“There is not legal instrument that can prohibit [the deal]. I hope that the agreement will be implemented as soon as possible. There are no questionable provisions in this contract,” he said.
Any attempt on the part of journalists to investigate the situation is a blow to the Republic of Moldova, the defense minister added.
Earlier, Moldovan Prime Minister Vladimir Filat admitted that selling weapons to Armenia was a wrong political move and apologized to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
The diplomat stated that Chișinău really did sell $3 million USD worth of weapons to Armenia, and called this fact a “wrong political move”. At the same time, he stressed that “there are no international sanctions prohibiting the sale of arms to Armenia”.
Moldnews recalls that earlier Vlad Filat said he knew nothing of the sale of missile and artillery systems to Armenia — despite the fact that his signature was on the sale documents.