Chisinau, September 4 (Interfax) - Moldova has been unable to find buyers for six Soviet-made MiG-29 fighters possessed by the National Army for quite a long time, said Moldovan Defense Minister Vitalie Marinuta.
Speaking at a press conference dealing with the Day of National Army on Friday, Marinuta said an announcement advertising the sale of the fighters has been posted on the websites of the Marculesti International Airport, where these planes are parked now, the National Agency of Public Procurements, and the Defense Ministry.
Asked by Interfax what the planes would cost, Marinuta replied that the price had not yet been set, "but, as soon as at least two buyers appear, both the price and the date of the auction will be announced."
"I hope to sell each plane at least for $1 million, because they are worth it. We could spend the proceeds of the sale on buying helicopters and other hardware that the army needs," he said.
There is no point in keeping the planes in service with the National Army, as their repairs and maintenance would cost about $30 million, he said.
"They should have been sold ten years ago, when their technical condition was much better than today. I don’t know whether we will be able to sell these planes, because Ukraine and Romania also have such planes and have so far been unable to sell them," he said.
If it turns out that the planes are impossible to sell, they will be cannibalized and disposed of, Marinuta said.
It was reported earlier that 32 MiG planes were left in Moldova after the Soviet Union’s breakup. One of these planes was handed to Romania toward settling Moldova’s debts to that country, four were sold to Yemen and 21 to the U.S.
Former Moldovan Defense Minister Valeriu Pasat sold 21 MiG-29 fighters to the Pentagon in 1999. Moldova received $40 million in cash and equipment worth about as much. After the Party of Communists came to power, Pasat was tried and convicted for abuse of power and infliction of damage on the state. He was sentenced to ten years in prison but served slightly more than two years. Following his release, Pasat went to Moscow. He appealed the court rulings and was acquitted only in 2010, after the new government came to power.
Pasat has returned to Chisinau, become the head of the Party of Humanists, and is planning to run for president.
