Minister of Trade of Serbia Rasim Ljajic says Serbia agreed upon the export of weapons by a private company to Armenia with four ministries and the special services, Eadaily reports, citing the Serbian Nova.rs.

The Serbian portal states that the trade minister’s comment comes after Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Khalaf Khalafov expressed his extreme disappointment with the export of weapons to Armenia. Khalafov told Charge d’Affaires of Serbia Danica Veinovic that Serbia had supplied a large amount of weapons to Armenia, including mortars that Armenia used during the recent conflict. The Azerbaijani deputy foreign minister also hinted that the allegations will jeopardize the friendly ties between Serbia and Azerbaijan.

“In 2020, a private company exported weapons to Armenia, but state-run companies weren’t a part of the deal. In May and June, this company supplied rifles and pistols costing a little over EUR 1,000,000,” Rasim Ljajjic said. He also affirmed that the Serbian Ministry of Foreign Affairs had reached an agreement on delivery, and the Ministries of Defense, Internal Affairs and Foreign Affairs had reached an agreement earlier. The special services also gave their consent. “We gave the final permission only after everyone had reached an agreement,” Serbia’s trade minister said, adding that Armenia is not under the sanctions of the EU, the US and Russia and it would be hard to reject Armenia.