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Moscow concerned over possible supply of U.S. lethal weapons to Ukraine: Russian Foreign Ministry

Xinhua, September 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia is concerned over the prospect of U.S. supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons, a senior Russian Foreign Ministry official said Thursday.

U.S. House of Representatives, the lower house of the U.S. Congress, unanimously approved the Stability and Democracy for Ukraine Act on Wednesday, which provides the legal basis for granting lethal defensive weapons to Kiev.

"It cannot but cause concern, because how is it possible to combine work to restore lasting peace with lethal weapons supplies?" Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the ministry's Department for Non-Proliferation and Arms Control, was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti news agency.

The bill, which has yet to be passed by the U.S. Senate, the upper house, and signed into law by the U.S. president, contradicted several international agreements imposing restrictions on supplies of lethal weapons to conflict zones, said Ulyanov.

Steps taken by the U.S. Congress are contrary to the international obligations of the United States and hamper the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine, he added.

The United States, the European Union and some of their allies has, since 2014, imposed several rounds of sanctions on Russia over its annexation of Crimea and alleged involvement in the Ukrainian crisis. Endi