24/10/2019 11:26
Russia addresses note of protest to Armenia after failure of arms tender
Russia has sent a note of protest to Armenia regarding the failure of the arms tender with the participation of Russian ORSIS company and requested defense minister Davit Tonoyan settle the situation, RIA Novosti reports citing the text of the copy of the document it has.
According to RIA Novosti’s source, the note has already been handed to the Russian Foreign Ministry and will soon be sent to the Armenian side.
The note signed on October 22, 2019 by deputy head of Minpromtorg Oleg Ryazantsev and addressed to Armenia’s defense minister Davit Tonoyan says that the participation application by ORSIS in the mentioned tender was “rejected without adequate grounds” and the company “without any grounds was included in the list of unscrupulous suppliers.”
The Russian side stressed that the Ministry of Defense of Armenia “unlawfully addressed the bank with the demand to pay the bank guarantee for participation in the tender,” while according to the law, the company was to pay the compensation in case of winning the tender and refusing to sign the contract itself.
“We ask you to revise the created situation and instruct to undertake measures for the regulation of the issue,” the document says.
In August 2019 the official representative of ORSIS told RIA Novosti that a criminal case been instituted following the tender failure under Article 376 of the Criminal Code (negligence).
The tender was declared by Armenia’s Defense Ministry on arms supply amounting to few million dollars.
The information was confirmed to the RIA Novosti in the Armenian ministry. At present, the case is examined by Armenia’s Investigative Committee’s military investigative department.