Chisinau - An Ilyushin Il-76 jetliner, which came to Moldova from Libya's Benghazi on September 12, departed to Armenia on September 14, Moldovan Defense Minister Vitalie Marinuta said at a special meeting of the Parliamentary Commission for National Security, Defense and Public Order on Wednesday.
He said the plane took aboard 30 tonnes of armaments and ammunition with the expired shelf life.
"The entire national administration was informed about that arms deal. We complied with the Moldovan laws and international conventions. The plane was empty when it arrived in Moldova, and all the countries of transit issued permits for that flight. When the arms were loaded, the plane departed to its point of destination, Armenia," he said.
"The deal has nothing to do with Libya. It is just that the plane came from Benghazi after having fulfilled another order," he said.
"The Moldovan Armed Forces are selling armaments with the expired shelf life. The process started over a decade ago and continued by the decision of the parliament and the government. We cannot dispose of these armaments and hardware here, because we have no relevant infrastructure. We are also unable to modernize them. Other countries can do that, so we have decided to sell the arms," he said.
"The arms deal has a value of millions of dollars," the minister said. He refused to give the precise sum.
