Ex-President Petru Lucinschi says ex-Defense Minister sold MIGs legally

The former Moldovan President, Petru Lucinschi, was heard Monday by the Chisinau Appelate Court as a witness in the trial against former Defense Minister Valeriu Pasat. The latter one is accused of illegally selling 21 MIG-29 aircraft and armament. Petru Lucischi has stated the transaction was legal, and, at the same time, favorable for Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. Petru Lucinschi has said that in conformity with the military doctrine of the country, those planes could not be used by the Moldovan army and selling them was timely, especially as the financial situation of the state was grim. The ex-President has said that, in January 1997, when he became President, he was informed about a pre-contract on selling the aircraft to an intermediary company from South Korea. Later, the U.S. Ambassador told him the planes could get in the hands of Iran, a country the U.S.A. considers as supportive of terrorism and that Moldova would be embargoed by the U.S.A., had it sold armament to Iran. “That was in fact an ultimatum for us,” Lucinschi said. So, the then leadership decided to sell the planes to the U.S.A. The U.S. Government payed $40 million and humanitarian aid for those 21 aircraft. “I consider that agreement as very favorable for Moldova. We got $40 million and long-term humanitarian aid still coming today,” Petru Lucinschi said. He says the decision to accept the offer from the U.S.A. was rather political than commercial, for saving Moldova from the embargo of the strongest country, which could have had severe consequences for the country. Petru Lucinschi has stated Valeriu Pasat could not have pursued any personal gain and took no commission for that transaction. Lucinschi described Pasat as “pedant and punctilious in everything.” “The statements made in the court by Petru Lucinschi confirms the legality of signing the accord on non-proliferation of mass-destruction armament and eliminates any doubt as to the legality of that transaction,” Valeriu Pasat's barister, Alexandru Tanase, told media. Prosecutor Ruslan Toma has told the journalists Lucinschi's statements do not differ from what he said in the lower court. Ex-Prime-Minister Ion Ciubuc, ex-Speaker Dumitru Motpan, and the ex-President Mircea Snegur are still to be heard on this trial. The Appellate Court considers the case without Valeriu Pasat's attending. On April 2, 2008, the Supreme Court of Justice canceled a former sentence by the Appellate Court and order to re-judge the case. According to the Supreme Court's writ, Pasat regained his statute of a sentenced. Consequently the first writ by the Centru Court sentencing Pasat to 10 years of imprisonment is valid. Pasat was arrested in March 2005, being accused of selling the 21 MIGs at too small a price and rocket launchers. In Janaury 2006 he was sentenced to 10 years of jail. The Appellate Court found Pasat not guilty of selling the planes and reduced his sentence to 5, but in May 2008, the Supreme Court canceled the Appellate Couirt's decision and left valid the sentence condemning Pasat to 10 years.