Armenia, Russia not to go to court under failed arms supply contract

ArmInfo. Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia Hrachya Sargsyan believes that  Armenia and Russia will not go to court on the issue of Moscow's failure to fulfill its obligations under the arms contract.

So, on December 4, in parliament, in a conversation with journalists,  in response to the question of whether Yerevan plans to initiate  legal proceedings if Moscow still does not supply the weapons  provided for in the contract, Sargsyan laconically replied: "I think  the matter will not come to that. The issue will be resolved in  within the framework of partnerships."

When asked to clarify whether the contract was valid, he explained  that the contract was signed before his appointment to the post of  deputy minister, moreover, he oversees a different area, and  therefore cannot say anything unambiguously. The representative of  the defense department only once again emphasized that at the moment  no deliveries have been made.

This year the Armenian authorities have repeatedly accused Russia of  failing to fulfill arms contracts worth more than $400 million.

The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan spoke about this for  the first time on September 29, 2022, at a government meeting. In  particular, he noted that "there are cases when hundreds of millions  of dollars are paid, but supply obligations towards Armenia are not  fulfilled, including by allied countries."

And already on November 24 of this year, Pashinyan said that the  Russian side could write off part of the Armenian debt in exchange  for weapons that Armenia purchased, but which were never delivered.

The Russian side does not comment on this issue. Only a couple of  times at the level of deputies of the legislative body was the fact  of the existence of a problem in this area confirmed.  Meanwhile, one  of the Armenian newspapers, citing its sources, reported that we are  talking about a contract concluded between the Ministry of Defense of  Armenia and the Russian plant NPO Splav JSC, which produces  Smerch-type missiles. At the same time, as sources clarified, Before  the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the plant contacted  the Armenian Ministry of Defense several times with a request to pick  up finished products.