Armenia "turned down offer to buy Belarusian Polonez systems"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has revealed that he offered Armenia to buy Belarusian Polonez missile systems - which Minsk also supplies to Baku - but Armenia turned down the proposal.

He added that Armenia rejected the deal citing the fact that Yerevan has acquired Russian Iskander missile systems, RIA Novosti reports.

“Yes, for me, Azerbaijanis are no strangers, but you should not blame us for selling arms to Azerbaijan.

According to Lukashenko, when the Belarusian side was testing the systems, they invited Armenians, Azerbaijanis and Russians to follow the process, Lukashenko added.

During the test, he said, the Azerbaijani side expressed a wish to purchase the weapon.

“And we need to return the loan the Chinese have given us for [the project]. I then .... say (to Azerbaijan - Ed.): 'Well, I will sell you the complex', and I tell the Armenians (because I knew that there are going to be problems): 'I am ready to supply you with a similar complex.' The Armenians refused, citing the fact that they have Russian Iskander systems," Lukashenko said.

Lukashenko has recalled the proposals that Belarus and Russia made in an attempt to help address the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as he met with representatives of the Russian mass media community on 14 December.