Lukashenka's regime sells armaments to Sudan and Syria

Reports about armaments export by Belarus in 2008 have appeared in the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

The information reveals that 3 203-mm self-propelled guns 2S7 Pion were supplied to Azerbaijan. Syria has bought 33 Mig-23 attack planes. Sudan has bought 11 Su-25 fighters. Russia bought 15 “air-air” P27-P rockets for Su-27 and MIG-29 fighters from Belarus, “Belorusy i rynok” informs.

The history of the deliveries in recent years looks the following way.

In 2007 2 armored personnel carriers BTR-70 were sold to Sudan. Armenia bought 10 122-mm howitzers D-30, Eritrea bought 9 Uragan multiple rocket launchers.

In 2006 the UN Register of Conventional Arms had only one Belarusian armaments deal: our country sold to Azerbaijan 41 tanks T-72.

In 2005, according to the UN, Azerbaijan bought 19 main battle tanks from Belarus, Slovakia – 2 Mi-8 transport helicopters, Djibouti – 2 Mi-24 attack helicopters.

In 2004 the main buyer of arms was Sudan. It bought 21 armoured Scout Cars BRDM-2, 7 BTR-80 armoured personnel carriers, 10 BTR-70 armoured personnel carriers and one BMP-1. Cote d’Ivoire bought 2 Su-25 fighters.

In 2003 Sudan received from Belarus 9 BMP-2, 39 BRDM-2, 32 items of different artillery systems; Cote d’Ivoire bought 20 different armoured cars and 16 different artillery systems.

In 2002 Iran bought 15 T-72 tanks, Algeria bought 2 Mig-29 fighter aircrafts, Sudan 14 artillery systems, Cote d’Ivoire 12 BMP-1, 10 120 mm Sani mortars and 2 helicopters Mi-24.

Many experts are sure however that the period from 1992 till 2001 was the most productive considering the amount of earnings. It wasn’t traced by the UN statistics. According to reports published by the research service of the US Congress, in 1998-2001 Belarus gained $1 billion from armaments trade and occupied the 11th position in the world.

In this context experts primarily mention contracts for selling arms to Peru. Starting from 1996 (and even earlier, according to some sources), Lima bought in Minsk: 150 T-72 tanks, about a dozen of tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Tunguska and Tor missile systems, and 10 Osa or Strela anti-aircraft missiles; 18 Mig-29 fighters (including 2 Mig-29UB) and the same number of close air support aircrafts Su-25.

Considering the atmosphere of secrecy which surrounds armaments trade in Belarus, one could suppose that information about many deals in this sphere hasn’t become known to researchers at all. Some indirect facts allow supposing they could have taken place.

It should be also noted that Israeli mass media with a reference to sources in the Kremlin, Iskander-M are to be sold to Iran and Syria by Belarus.