Alexander Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defense of Russia, labeled the information reported earlier about the halting of Russian arms deliveries to Armenia as misinformation.
Russian newspaper Kommersant, in an article about the Russian responses to recent events in Armenia, had reported that, as a result of Russian leadership’s displeasure with political persecutions against former officials by the current Armenian government, Russia would consider halting the remaining half of the $200 million arms delivery loan granted to Armenia in 2016.
“That is an unreliable information,” Fomin said on Friday while attending an event at the Monte Melkonian Military-Sports Training College in Dilijan.
Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and Russia’s Deputy Minister Fomin discussed issues of bilateral interest in political, military-political fields, according to Armenian Ministry of Defence press release.
READ MORE:
Moscow Halts $100 mln Arms Supply to Armenia
Russia Irked Over Developments in Armenia, Warns of Consequences
When asked about the situation surrounding Yuri Khachaturov, the Secretary-General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Deputy Minister Fomin responded that Armenia is pursuing justice in the matter.
Yuri Khachaturov, who was a Deputy Minister of Defense in 2008, was charged by the Armenian Special Investigative Service for toppling the constitutional order in a crackdown following the 2008 presidential elections. Khachaturov was subsequently released on bail and permitted to leave the country to fulfill his obligations as the Secretary-General of the CSTO.
It is worth noting that Kommersant had pointed at the prosecution of Khachaturov as an anti-Russian act by the current Armenian leadership, directed to deliver a blow against the Russia-led regional security organization and saw this as a reason why Russia might halt the delivery of the remaining $100 million worth of arms to Armenia.
Minister Tonoyan issued assurances that the aforementioned arms deal with Russia was still in effect and that the supply process had not stopped.
“The arms supply is in process within the framework of the $100 million loan agreement,” Tonoyan said and added that Armenia acquires arms not only from the CSTO member states, but also from other countries.
Gegham Mughnetsyan
