OTTAWA -- Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan is remaining mum on details of the government's settlement with Vice-Admiral Mark Norman.

Norman and the government announced on Wednesday that the military's former second-in-command is retiring after negotiating an agreement.

The deal follows Crown prosecutors dropping their case last month against Norman, who had been charged with breach of trust for allegedly leaking government secrets about a shipbuilding deal.

Speaking from Brussels where he has been attending a NATO meeting, Sajjan tells The Canadian Press that he cannot discuss the details of the settlement because of confidentiality provisions.

That includes how much the settlement was worth and whether it included a requirement that Norman refrain from talking publicly about his case.

Conservative MPs have accused the Liberal government of buying Norman's silence with the agreement ahead of the federal election.