ArmInfo. Government institutions and secret services of the Czech Republic are studying the video of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, where the weapons produced by the Czechoslovak Group are visible. As the Prague telegraph writes, Baku demonstrated the weapons produced in the Czech Republic, the deliveries of which passed without the knowledge of local authorities.
We are talking about the 152-mm self-propelled artillery mount vz.77 Dana and 122mm multiple rocket launchers RM-70 Vampir (Czech version of the Soviet BM-21 ). Meanwhile, according to the publication, experts believe that they could be imported into Azerbaijan through Israel.
"It is noteworthy that the supply of lethal weapons contradicts the recommendation of the PACE, which in 1992 called on Council of Europe members not to supply weapons to the Karabakh conflict zone (Armenia and Azerbaijan). Some countries, including the Czech Republic, are in compliance with the embargo, others have refused it. Nevertheless, over the past ten years, Azerbaijan has bought non-lethal funds in the Czech Republic for more than 1 million euros, "the source said. At the same time, the publication notes that the official Prague stated that it did not sell weapons to Baku, and the authorities do not know how it could get into the hands of this Caucasian republic. "I want to assure you that the Czech Republic did not do this. The Czech Republic respects the embargo on the sale of weapons to countries involved in conflicts. I do not understand how it got to Azerbaijan, but I assure you that the Czech authorities did not give consent to this, "said, in particular, the chairman of the Czech Senate, Milan Shtekh.
The press secretary of the Ministry of Defense of the country Jan Peishek told that in the last few years the department did not even consider requests for the export of military material to Azerbaijan. The Ministry of Industry told the Prague Telegraph that work was under way to study the details of where the samples of Czech military equipment had been exported in the last ten years.
Similarly, they reacted to the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry explained that "in the past few years, not a single license was issued to sell lethal weapons to Azerbaijan." "We do not know how the weapon of Czech production turned out to be there (in Azerbaijan - PT comment). In 2016-2017 years. In particular, applications for the purchase of Dana M1 howitzers and RM 70 missile systems were rejected, according to which the Czech partners in the European Union were informed on the appropriate channels, "Irena Valentova, spokeswoman for the Czech Foreign Ministry, stressed.
Press-attache of the Czechoslovak Group holding Andrey Chirtek assured that when selling the equipment, the company operates "in strict accordance with the law and international rules of arms trade". "But as a rule, we do not comment on concrete deals, since this is a commercial secret and is registered in contracts," he noted. The publication of the publication Hospodarske noviny, which first indicated the availability of Czech weapons at the disposal of Azerbaijan, suggests that it could be supplied in parts to Israel. The article says that the Czechoslovak Group, which has repeatedly tried to obtain a license to export products to Azerbaijan, is cooperating with the Israeli company Elbit Systems (engaged in the development and modernization of various types of weapons, turnover exceeds $ 3.25 billion) as part of the modernization of such weapons.
One of the authors of the investigation, journalist Ondrej Soukup does not rule out that the weapons could have entered Azerbaijan through Bulgaria, Serbia and Israel.
"It is possible that it appeared in Azerbaijan thanks to Israel. From the documents that were received in the Azerbaijani embassy in Bulgaria, it becomes clear that such a deal was. MLRS RM-70/85 there was even mentioned, "- echoed Sookup, analyst of the military information site" Razmimono "Taron Hovhannisyan. Moreover, the military columnist Leonid Nersisyan claims that the Czech authorities were aware of this deal. "Despite the fact that the Czech leadership at the official level denies deliveries, it is extremely unlikely that the supplies were not known," the expert believes.
The source of the Czech portal armadninoviny.cz confirms that the Dana self-propelled artillery systems and RM-70 Vampir rocket launchers were delivered to Azerbaijan by Israeli Elbit Systems, and Czech and Slovak companies acted as sub-suppliers. "Azerbaijan closely cooperates with NATO in the fight against terrorism, Baku gives the alliance intelligence and analytical data, participates in NATO training programs. It is also known about the cooperation of special units of the US Navy and Azerbaijan. Closer to the NATO countries, including the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Baku is trying to reduce Russia's influence and the role of its military-industrial complex, "the source said. In this regard, President of the Czech Defense Industry Association Jiri Ginek believes that the EU should take the initiative and consider the issue of arms supplies to Azerbaijan in order to compete for the market of the country, which is one of the largest buyers of weapons in the world. "I consider it necessary that Brussels allow the members of the European Union to supply weapons to Azerbaijan. I would like the Czech Republic and other EU countries to oust Russians from this market, "Ginek stressed.