Head of Czech Defense Industry Association: Brussels should allow EU  members to supply weapons to Azerbaijan

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.