14:57,

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian defense ministry’s spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan has commented on the reports according to which the defense ministry of Armenia has sold weapons and ammunition to Turkey via a private company, and that weapons then appeared in the hands of pro-Turkish terrorists in Syria.

The spokesperson also commented on the reports relating to Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan, as well as the ministry.

Shushan Stepanyan stated on social media that Armenia’s defense ministry has never sold any type of weapon or ammunition to Turkey through any channel.

“Since yesterday, a number of obvious and more likely directed fake claims are being widely spread by some media outlets and Facebook users, aimed at putting a shadow on the reputation of the Armenian defense ministry. Not so much going further on the goals and selection of the applied tools of that dirty information campaign and leaving it to the actions of the law enforcement agencies, we consider it necessary to respond to some provisions presented in that reports:

1. Armenia’s defense ministry has sold weapons and ammunition to Turkey via a private company, from where it then appeared in the hands of pro-Turkish terrorists in Syria.

This is a total and brazen lie. Armenia’s defense ministry has never sold any type of weapon or ammunition to Turkey through any channel. Most of the documents attached to the report are interpreted in a distorted way, and this disinformation is being formed based on this distortion.

By the way, having the fact of the actual leak of official documents of the state agency, it becomes very remarkable that the aforementioned documents have been confiscated by the National Security Service of Armenia for examination back in 2018.

2. It is allegedly presented that Armenia’s defense ministry has lent 3.5 million USD to a private company for unknown reasons, and the head of that company has friendly ties with defense minister Davit Tonoyan.

This is a total and brazen lie. The defense ministry has provided that loan to that company to ensure the continuation of arms supply to Armenia from a third country. Moreover, at the moment of providing the loan, that company has already delivered a part of the ordered ammunition, the cost of which was more than the provided one. And the total cost of the deal was much more than the amount of the mentioned loan.

3. It is stated that at the beginning of the war, some private individuals have proposed the defense ministry to purchase body armor from Russia at 300 USD, but the ministry rejected this offer and then acquired the same body armor at over 1000 USD through another private company.

This is a total and brazen lie. The defense ministry, in accordance with the respective contracts signed between Armenia and Russia, acquires Russian-made weapons, ammunition and armament at the Russian domestic prices. In this particular case, the aforementioned body armors, as well as respective armored helmets with a limited amount have been acquired exclusively for special divisions through the Russian state structures.

4. It is also stated that during the war launched on September 27 Armenia’s defense minister Davit Tonoyan allegedly was in Maldives to attend a birthday party of one of his friends.

This is a total and brazen lie. At the beginning and the day before the war Davit Tonoyan has been in Kazakhstan for participating in the Caucasus-2020 multinational military drills, and a respective official news release has been provided. Upon the start of the war the minister returned to Armenia, but had to make his return through the territory of a third country, in particular Bulgaria due to the limited air communication caused by the coronavirus. This fact can be easily checked through respective inquiries”, the spokesperson stated.

Armenia’s defense ministry strongly condemns the spread of such kind of fake reports, viewing this as a criminal activity aimed at distorting the security grounds of the country and urges the media outlets spreading these reports to deny them. The ministry also expects an operative response from the law enforcement agencies in finding the authors who spread these documents and launching respective legal processes.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan