Sunday, August 10, 2008

Defense Minister denies grounds for accusing Ukraine of illegal arms supply to Georgia

Ukrainian Defense Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov says accusations leveled against Ukraine for allegedly unlawful delivery of weapons to Georgia hold no water.

He made a statement to this effect during his working visit to Chernivtsi region on Monday.

The minister noted that Ukraine has Ukrspetsexport, a government structure in charge of arms export in keeping with domestic and international laws.

"If someone buys Ukrainian weapons, it means they enjoy demand in the world market. We have a lot of excessive arms, and are trying to sell them, but only to the countries where there is no international embargo on arms trade," Yekhanurov says.

He emphasized that no international sanctions were imposed on Georgia concerning weapons sale or purchase.