YEREVAN, JUNE 18, ARMENPRESS. In wake of the corruption-related accusations and revelations surrounding MP Manvel Grigoryan, the former general who is the chairman of the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union, defense ministry spokesman Artsrun Hovhannisyan was asked to comment today on the likely ways that the discovered military food and items appeared in the private mansion of the lawmaker, who is currently under arrest pending a parliamentary vote to determine the stripping of immunity issue tomorrow.

He said that the special military food and items have been given to the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union legally.

“There are two main ways – for more than 20 years the Yerkrapah Volunteer Union is actively holding annual drills, during which it requests the defense ministry for various items, and the second way, you know that during the four-day war there were volunteer groups who were in Artsakh and who were under the official supply of the Defense Army [Artsakh], i.e. they received food, clothing, etc. I cannot say  to which way the discovered [batch] of the items and food relates to, the investigation will show,” he sad.

Asked whether or not the defense ministry had any supervision mechanisms, Hovhannisyan said it didn’t. He said reports were being submitted, which will also be studied.

Speaking about the discovered firearms, he said the weapons were not given by the ministry.

The parliament of Armenia will convene an extraordinary sitting on June 19 to debate stripping MP Manvel Grigoryan of immunity.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan