Azernews.Az

Moldova’s acting President Marian Lupu has dismissed the armed forces chief, amid reports claiming the country has reached a secret deal to supply arms to Armenia.

According to the presidential degree, Gen. Iurie Dominic was dismissed to improve discipline in the military and prevent violation of military laws in the future. But Moldovan media said the actual reason of the dismissal was exposure of the arms sale.

Russian Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper reported earlier that Defense Minister Vitaly Marinutse admitted during recent closed-door hearings in parliament that Moldova had sold weaponry and military machinery to the South Caucasus republic.

Analysts say Moldova bewares that the alleged arms sale could spark ire in Azerbaijan, which faces a two-decade-long conflict with neighboring Armenia over its occupied Nagorno Karabakh region. They say the row over the arms sales could also hamper the country’s cooperation with Azerbaijan, as well as cooperation within GUAM, a group of four former Soviet republics including Azerbaijan and Moldova.

The row emerged after reports circulated that a plane carrying artillery and anti-tank weapons flew from Moldova's capital Chisinau to Yerevan.

The Moldovan government has said it was unaware of the arms sales, but military officials said they acted on the government’s orders.

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said last Saturday that according to incoming data, Armenia has imported a considerable amount of offensive weapons from neighboring countries, including rockets, anti-tank weapons and 78,000 AK rifles. He said the countries selling the weaponry are "making a big mistake".