Friday, September 17 2021 16:39

ArmInfo.The Russian enterprise ORSIS ("Weapon Systems", part of the "Industrial Technologies" group of companies) believes that it has managed to overcome the  misunderstanding with Armenia that arose after the resonant incident  with the disrupted tender of the Ministry of Defense of the republic,  in which the company participated.

Chief Designer Maksim Baymetov in an interview with RIA Novosti said  that at the Army-2021 exhibition, the company's management met with a  delegation of the Armenian military department headed by the new  Defense Minister Arshak Karapetyan. "Our partners expressed a keen  interest in the entire line of ORSIS weapons, including promising  models. Today, a number of pre-contract negotiations are underway  with Yerevan, and we can say that ORSIS has opened a new, positive  page in cooperation with the Armenian side," he said.  To recall, in  2019, ORSIS was included in the black list of arms suppliers to the  power structures of Armenia immediately after the Armenian Ministry  of Defense disrupted a tender for the supply of military equipment  for several million dollars, in which this company participated.  Later, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia sent a letter to  the head of the Armenian military department David Tonoyan, in which  this decision was assessed as "unmotivated". Upon the failure of the  tender, the Armenian security forces are investigating a criminal  case under the article "negligent attitude to service." Later, the  lawyer representing the interests of ORSIS in Armenia said that the  company was excluded from the black list.

In December 2019, the official representative of the Russian company  told RIA Novosti that the company sees progress in the situation with  the disrupted tender for the supply of military equipment to Armenia,  then Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian Armed Forces Artak  Davtyan said that Yerevan plans to purchase a certain amount of  weapons from the Russian company ORSIS ("Promtechnology")next year. 

However, in February 2020, it was reported that, according to a  source, a new criminal case was opened in Armenia on the fact that an  employee of the Ministry of Defense obstructed the work of a lawyer  representing the interests of the Russian arms company ORSIS in the  republic. An informed source told RIA Novosti that a new criminal  case was initiated by the Special Investigation Service (SIS) of  Armenia over the misappropriation of a valuable gift by a  high-ranking representative of the Ministry of Defense of the  republic and on the fact that an official of the same ministry  obstructed the activities of a lawyer representing ORSIS interests in  the country.