YEREVAN. – Even though the arms trade market is an open market for Armenia, there are some political restrictions linked to export control, Davit Tonoyan, the First Deputy Minister of Defense of Armenia, told RFE/RL Armenian service.

He noted this commenting on President Serzh Sargsyan’s recent statement that the Armenian army is combating with weapons from the 1980s, whereas the Azerbaijani army arsenal is much more modern.

“There is a gentlemen’s agreement on not supplying military products to a conflict region,” Tonoyan said. “[But] it’s natural that, stemming by necessity, the [respective arms] purchases are made in the countries which don’t have these restrictions.

“Our [i.e. the Armenian side’s] weapon of the [19]80s ‘neutralized’ this [Azerbaijani] threat; that is, it forced the adversary to back up from its original intentions.

“And Israel also offered to Armenia the same [military] products [which it sold to Azerbaijan]. (…) [But] there was no need for it [by the Armenian side] because we gave other solutions to this, and as you can see, these weapons don’t work so successfully.

“Two very major strategic documents are drawn up [by the Armenian side]. They are the Armed Forces Development Plan, and the Arms and Military Equipment Development Plan (…). And the development plan envisions acquiring contemporary, most modern weapons (…) every year.”