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Azerbaijani Defense Ministry: â€œArmenia sent 2 million dollar-ammunitions to PKK last yearâ€

09 April 2008 12:34 (UTC +04:00)

Information Office of Azerbaijani Defense Ministry told APA that Armenia was also sending hireling soldiers to the scenes of conflicts.Armenian military bases supplied PKK terrorist organization with ammunitions in amounts of 2 million dollars last year, said the Defense Ministry. It is on record that there are many Armenian hireling soldiers from Armenia and Middle East among the PKK terrorists participating in the incursions against Turkey. There were Armenian hirelings among the terrorists killed during the operations of Turkish security forces in the south-eastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Part of ammunitions sent from Armenia comes to hand of militants fighting against the coalition troops in Iraq. There are numerous facts about the transportation of weapons to the Middle East terrorist organizations via Armenia. Arrests of former Russian officer Victor But and Armenian-origin British citizen Andrew Smulyan, who both were accused in the selling of weapons to the terrorist organizations in Thailand, approved Armeniaâ€™s involvement in illegal arms sale. These persons negotiated the selling of surface-to-air missiles with Columbian FARC in Thailand.
The swindlers sold illegal arms to Liberia, Congo, Angola, Iraq and Columbia. Armenian citizens â€“Arthur and Levon Solomonian brothers smuggling arms were arrested in the US in March, 2005. International criminal network led by Arthur was engaged in selling arms bought from military units in Russia, Armenia and North Caucasus. â€œUnited Nations Register Conventionalâ€ Organizationâ€™s annual report on arm export and import registers Armenia as a country hidden its arms and does not show them in the documents. The facts show that official Yerevan has bought illegal arms and military equipment from various countries in summer, 2007. The ship carrying 60 containers of illegal arms, which were bought from Albanian Meiko firm by Armenian Defense Ministry, was detained in the territory of Turkey in July, 2007. There were various artillery arms from 75mm till 122 mm among the illegal arms. It was determined that these arms had been gained from ammunition depots in the territory of Tirana illegally. There occurred heavy explosion in this depot in March, 2007. The explosion aimed to cover up the smuggling. Military communications-electronics systems technique from â€œRadiotexkomplektâ€ Close Joint Stock Company was sent to Armenia illegally with the financial support of Ara Abramian, President of General Russian Social Organization "the Union of Russiaâ€™s Armenians" (the URA). Officials of customs service of Caucasus port in the territory of Krasnodar prevented the smuggling of spares for BM-21 Grad launch vehicle and Fagot rocket system belonging to Armenian Defense Ministry. These show that Armenia has become the center of ammunition depot of terrorism and illegal arms sale.