Russia has demanded explanations from the US and Turkey about plans to transfer American weapons from Turkish warehouses to Ukraine through the Bulgarian company VTIC International Ltd. Moscow warned that the possible implementation of the transfer could negatively affect its relations with both Washington and Ankara.
“The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested relevant explanations“, said Russian diplomatic spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, quoted by bTV.
The reason for the reaction were documents with which the US State Department notified Congress on August 3 of a proposed permanent transfer of American military equipment, currently located in Turkey, to Ukraine. According to the procedure, the transfer can be carried out after the expiration of the deadline for notifying Congress provided for by US law.
The documents state that the transfer must be implemented with the participation of the Turkish companies MKE, ASFAT and ARCA Savunma, the Bulgarian VTIC International Ltd., as well as the American Pansophico and Patriot Defense Group.
The final recipient of the weapons is the government of Ukraine.
The proposed package includes 12 M270 MLRS launchers, 70 M39 ATACMS ballistic missiles, 2,524 M26 unguided rockets with cluster warheads and 47,000 M509A1 artillery ammunition with a caliber of 203 mm and cluster action.
According to the US documents, Turkey's goal is to reduce its stockpiles of older weapons and direct resources to the modernization and maintenance of existing ones. systems.
Maria Zakharova said that the possible provision of weapons to Kiev would cause further damage to relations between Russia and the United States, as well as Russian-Turkish relations.
According to her, Moscow does not understand why Washington and Ankara continue with such deliveries, while simultaneously declaring support for a political and diplomatic solution to the conflict.
“Attempts to use peaceful rhetoric while simultaneously supplying Kiev with weapons inevitably undermine mutual trust“, Zakharova said.
She stressed that the United States and Turkey claim a special role in efforts to find a solution to the war in Ukraine and set a political and diplomatic settlement as a priority.
According to Zakharova, Washington and Ankara can still rethink the situation and the consequences of the possible transfer. She also questioned when exactly the “lethal cargo“ is expected to be transferred to Ukraine.
The planned transfer does not constitute new US arms aid, but a re-export of US weapons already in Turkey.
Due to US rules on the transfer of military equipment to third countries, Washington must approve such a transfer. That is why the State Department has notified Congress.
The documents state that Turkey is offering to transfer the weapons to Ukraine, and that Kiev will use them to strengthen its fire support capabilities. It is also stated that the Ukrainian armed forces already have similar or similar munitions.
The issue of cluster munitions is particularly sensitive. The planned package includes 2,524 M26 missiles and 47,000 M509A1 cluster munitions.
This type of munitions is subject to international restrictions due to the risk of unexploded submunitions, which can pose a danger to the civilian population even after the end of hostilities. Monitoring organizations indicate that such munitions have already been used by Russian and Ukrainian forces in the war, BGNES writes.
Turkey maintains relations with both Russia and Ukraine and in recent years has sought to maintain its role as a mediator on issues related to the war.
The possible transfer of American weapons from Turkish stocks to Ukraine would add a new dimension to Ankara's complex position. Turkey is simultaneously developing its military cooperation with Kiev and maintaining significant political and economic relations with Moscow.
On the American side, the notification to Congress indicates that the procedure has begun. However, at this time, this is a planned transfer, not a confirmed delivery of the weapons to Ukraine.