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Czech cabinet postpones decision on sale of L-159 fighters to Iraq

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Czech cabinet on Wednesday postponed the decision on the sale of redundant L-159 subsonic fighters to Iraq, said Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky.

He said that the way of assigning the proceeds from the sale to the Defence Ministry must be defined before the decision is made.

Czech Defence Ministry plans to sell 15 L-159s for 750 million crowns (about 3.1 million U.S. dollars) to the Aero Vodochody company, which is to re-sell it to Iraq.

Stropnicky said the Defence ministry must discuss ways of gaining the money with the Finance Ministry.

Czech Defence Ministry originally planned to sign the contract with Aero Vodochody in late February if the cabinet approved the sale of L-159 fighters on Wednesday.

The ministry agreed on the deal with Aero Vodochody in August 2014. The company would re-sell the planes to Iraq, which is a procedure required by Czech law.

Stropnicky said the cabinet would probably discuss the deal in two weeks and the ministry would negotiate with the Finance Ministry to find a solution in the meantime.

Of the 15 L-159 fighters designated for the Iraqi military, 11 are mothballed and 4 have been used by Czech troops. Ten of the fighers are one-seat and two are two-seats, the other three planes will be dismantled to provide spare parts. (1 U. S. dollar = 24.388 crowns) Endit