Armenia’s High-Tech Industry Minister Mkhitar Hayrapetyan commented on criticism from former Military Industry Committee chairman Avetik Kerobyan and responded to accusations that he had made false claims regarding arms exports, according to Sputnik Armenia.
On May 19, Mkhitar Hayrapetyan announced that Armenia had exported domestically produced weapons worth millions of dollars for the first time. Avetik Kerobyan disputed the statement, calling it false and arguing that one local company had exported several million dollars’ worth of high-tech military equipment to a NATO member state as early as 2015.
“At this moment, there is no information in the databases of the Ministry of High-Tech Industry or the Defense Ministry indicating that a similar transaction had previously taken place. I can share the information available to me: there were exports, but they involved either civilian or dual-use products, as well as exports of components for a military system — conditionally speaking, air defense system cells,” Hayrapetyan said in response to journalists’ questions.
He clarified that his statement referred specifically to the export of finished military products that had been developed and manufactured in Armenia and exported abroad as ready-made weapons.
“If they do not wish to speak publicly, they can at least inform us what kinds of weapons were produced in Armenia 10 years ago as final military products and exported. If they fail to provide such facts, then we will have the legitimate right to say that these are yet another set of baseless statements,” Hayrapetyan said.
The minister again insisted that Armenia had exported domestically produced weapons worth millions of dollars for the first time, though he declined to disclose the quantity, value, type of weapons or the buyer country.
“As a rule, in such transactions, there must be consensus between the parties regarding the publication of such data. At this moment, that consensus does not exist. Under no circumstances can we, through our statements, endanger or create additional problems for the future, because this is only the beginning of a long road.
“In this field, it is important for Armenia as a state, and for private partners, to be reliable and trustworthy. There are rules that must be observed, because compliance with them creates the preconditions for future potential deals,” he noted.
Hayrapetyan added that a larger number of companies have now received permission to export products to more countries.
