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Moldovan Defense Minister: â€œThe agreement on arms sale to Armenia will be nullifiedâ€

11 November 2011 15:31 (UTC +04:00)

Baku - APA. â€œI want to inform the Azerbaijani public community that after the meeting of Moldovan special commission investigating the details of arms sale to Armenia, some mass media organizations in our country distorted my words, attributing to me the words â€œMoldova will finish the sale and begin the second phase of arms deal with Armeniaâ€. It is not true. In this regard I want to inform the Azerbaijani community that the realization of abovementioned deal was stopped by me as soon as this scandal occurred. Besides, the statutory renegotiation procedure is being held and the final purpose of this procedure is the complete nullification of the agreementâ€, Moldovan Defense Minister Vitaly Marinutsa said, APA reports.

After the scandal of arms deal with Armenia, the Defense Minister phoned to the editorial office of Vesti.az and asked to communicate his respect to all Azerbaijani citizens: â€œI want to convey my respect and esteem to all Azerbaijani citizens. I am sure that our friendly relations based on mutual interests will be developed for the sake of welfare of the two peoplesâ€.

Moldovan Defense Minister expressed regret for the occurred incident and confessed that some mistakes were made during making this decision on arms sale to Armenia: â€œI am sure that all factors which can damage our friendly relations with Azerbaijan in the future will be consideredâ€.

Earlier Moldnews reported that despite the scandal, Moldovaâ€™s Defense Minister Vitaly Marinutsa told journalists that Moldovan leadership is going to deliver the rest of the arms to the client from Armenia. At the meeting of the parliamentâ€™s commission on national security, defense and public order, he called on the parliamentarians to cite to the facts and legal documents, not to the media reports. Minister said Moldova will fulfill the arms deals till the end.
â€œThere is no legal document banning it. I hope the deal will be fulfilled in the short run. The deal does not contain a doubtful point, we must complete it,â€ he said.

Recently President of Moldova Marian Lupu had dismissed Chief of the General Staff of the National Army of Moldova, General Jurie Dominic. The relevant order was said to have been signed to prevent the further violation of the military legislation, but according to local newspapers, the reason of General Dominicâ€™s dismissal was a disclosure of secret arms deal with Armenia. The dismissal resulted in a big scandal. Moldovaâ€™s ruling circles are afraid that this scandal may impede Moldova-Azerbaijan cooperation and cooperation within the framework of GUAM. The question is reportedly the artillery and antitank systems. The freight plane loaded with the arms left Chisinau for Yerevan on September 13. The scandal caused discord between the Cabinet of Ministers and Defense Ministry of Moldova. The issue is being investigated.

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said that the countries selling offensive weapon to Armenia make a great mistake.