{"id":100137,"date":"2006-02-04T06:28:00","date_gmt":"2006-02-04T06:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/2006\/02\/04\/former-u-s-state-department-official-criticises-pasat-trial-9153-eng\/"},"modified":"2006-02-04T06:28:00","modified_gmt":"2006-02-04T06:28:00","slug":"former-u-s-state-department-official-criticises-pasat-trial-9153-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/former-u-s-state-department-official-criticises-pasat-trial-9153-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Former U.S. state department official criticises Pasat trial"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

A former American diplomat has criticised the closed-door trial of former defence minister of Moldova Valeriu Pasat, who was sentenced to ten years in detention for selling MIG-29 aircraft to the United States in 1997, according to the website of the Department of State. <\/p>\n

Merry, who served as regional director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, was one of the central figures in negotiating with the Moldovan government the purchase of the MiGs that had dual-nuclear capability. The diplomat revealed details of the 1997 government-to-government deal where the United States purchased twenty one used MiG-29 fighter jets from Moldova. <\/p>\n

"The trial did not envisage a Moldovan politician alone," Merry said in Washington at a briefing organised by the Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty. Merry believes that the Moldovan court has indirectly accused the U.S. government of “taking advantage of a small and weak [Moldova]” back in 1997. <\/p>\n

"We offered [Moldova] a single sum payment in cash in exchange for getting these [fighter jets] permanently off the market," plus excess defense articles, said Merry. The deal was meant to “meet the asymmetric goals” of both countries—Moldova would get the needed cash and the U.S. would have these MiGs disposed. The accusation has nothing to do with reality, believes Merry, since “it was not a ‘blue book’ price that would reflect the market value since there was no legitimate international market for these aircraft, there was a black market.” <\/p>\n

Merry underlined that legal depositions of John Todd Stewart, former U.S. Ambassador to Moldova, and his own were not taking into consideration by the court. <\/p>\n

He noted that the Department of State and Defense Ministry had authorised him and Stewart to discuss the role of the U.S. government in the 2997 transaction. <\/p>\n

The MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft is one of the most advanced jet fighters in the world. Moldova had 32 fighters after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 2992, said former president of Moldova Petru Lucinschi in 2005. He noted that a fighter was sold to Romania, four to Yemen and 21 to the United States. The Chisinau government did not manage to sell the six aircraft remaining from fleet, but they are not functional anymore. <\/p>\n

The court sentenced the former defence minister of Moldova, Valeriu Pasat, to 10 years jail time last month on grounds of selling these MiGs to the U.S. government at price lower than jets value. Charges were that Pasat had defrauded the Moldovan state budget by approximately 55 million through having sold the MiGs to the United States and not to a third party, which reportedly offered more. <\/p>\n

When former defense minister of the U.S. William Cohen announced the transaction in November 1997, he said that "many suspect states including Iran" wanted to buy the fighters. Merry noted that the court decision was “politically motivated”. Another important factor seen by Merry was that the decision of selling the MiGs to the United States was made by then President of Moldova Petru Lucinschi, not Pasat, and it was a political decision. On the contrary, Pasat was a “difficult negotiator,” he wanted a better deal for his country, concluded E. Wayne Merry. \/\/ BASA-Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>A former American diplomat has criticised the closed-door trial of former defence minister of Moldova Valeriu Pasat, who was sentenced to ten years in detention for selling MIG-29 aircraft to the Unit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

A former American diplomat has criticised the closed-door trial of former defence minister of Moldova Valeriu Pasat, who was sentenced to ten years in detention for selling MIG-29 aircraft to the United States in 1997, according to the website of the Department of State. <\/p>\n

Merry, who served as regional director for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, was one of the central figures in negotiating with the Moldovan government the purchase of the MiGs that had dual-nuclear capability. The diplomat revealed details of the 1997 government-to-government deal where the United States purchased twenty one used MiG-29 fighter jets from Moldova. <\/p>\n

"The trial did not envisage a Moldovan politician alone," Merry said in Washington at a briefing organised by the Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty. Merry believes that the Moldovan court has indirectly accused the U.S. government of “taking advantage of a small and weak [Moldova]” back in 1997. <\/p>\n

"We offered [Moldova] a single sum payment in cash in exchange for getting these [fighter jets] permanently off the market," plus excess defense articles, said Merry. The deal was meant to “meet the asymmetric goals” of both countries—Moldova would get the needed cash and the U.S. would have these MiGs disposed. The accusation has nothing to do with reality, believes Merry, since “it was not a ‘blue book’ price that would reflect the market value since there was no legitimate international market for these aircraft, there was a black market.” <\/p>\n

Merry underlined that legal depositions of John Todd Stewart, former U.S. Ambassador to Moldova, and his own were not taking into consideration by the court. <\/p>\n

He noted that the Department of State and Defense Ministry had authorised him and Stewart to discuss the role of the U.S. government in the 2997 transaction. <\/p>\n

The MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft is one of the most advanced jet fighters in the world. Moldova had 32 fighters after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 2992, said former president of Moldova Petru Lucinschi in 2005. He noted that a fighter was sold to Romania, four to Yemen and 21 to the United States. The Chisinau government did not manage to sell the six aircraft remaining from fleet, but they are not functional anymore. <\/p>\n

The court sentenced the former defence minister of Moldova, Valeriu Pasat, to 10 years jail time last month on grounds of selling these MiGs to the U.S. government at price lower than jets value. Charges were that Pasat had defrauded the Moldovan state budget by approximately 55 million through having sold the MiGs to the United States and not to a third party, which reportedly offered more. <\/p>\n

When former defense minister of the U.S. William Cohen announced the transaction in November 1997, he said that "many suspect states including Iran" wanted to buy the fighters. Merry noted that the court decision was “politically motivated”. Another important factor seen by Merry was that the decision of selling the MiGs to the United States was made by then President of Moldova Petru Lucinschi, not Pasat, and it was a political decision. On the contrary, Pasat was a “difficult negotiator,” he wanted a better deal for his country, concluded E. Wayne Merry. \/\/ BASA-Press<\/p>\n

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