Abkhazia Institute for Social and Economic Research

    

The Czech Republic is negotiating a possible deal with Georgia to sell at least ten L-159 advanced light combat aircrafts, the Czech news agency CTK reported on May 13.

It will become known whether Georgia will buy L-159 aircrafts or not in next two months, CTK quoted the First Deputy Defense Minister Martin Bartak.

Bartak was in the Czech delegation led by Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, which visited Georgia on May 10-12.

A business partner of the Czech government in the deal with Georgia is Omnipol company.

General Director of Omnipol Michal Hon said that although the Georgian side had expressed interests it is not yet clear whether the deal will be finalized, according to the CTK.

The Czech army bought a total of 72 L-159s, which is produced by Aero Vodochody factory, in 1997.

According to Defense Ministry of the Czech Republic, the government decided in 2004 to sell 47 of them.

Another Czech news agency Prague Daily Monitor reported that Ceska Zbrojovka factory has reached a preliminary agreement to sell 4,000 firearms to Georgia. But deal still needs to be finalized, Lubomir Kovarik of the Ceska Zbrojovka, who also was in the delegation in Tbilisi, said, according to the Prague Daily Monitor.

According to this report the visiting Czech Prime Minister Topolánek told his Georgian counterpart Zurab Nogaideli that his government would not oppose issuing license to the Czech arms maker to supply firearms to Georgia.

No immediate comment was available from the Georgian Defense Ministry about these possible deals.

The Georgian government has recently proposed to increase the 2007 defense spending from the current GEL 513.2 million to GEL 957.8 million (about USD 566.7 million).

Levan Nikoleishvili, the Deputy Defense Minister, told lawmakers on May 1 that most of the additional funding for the Defense Ministry will be spent on the purchase of weaponry and ammunition.