Russia Demands Explanation From U.S., Turkey Over Reported Arms Transfer to Ukraine
Russia has asked Washington and Ankara to clarify reports of a possible large-scale transfer of U.S.-made weapons stored in Turkey to Ukraine. Moscow warned such a move would seriously damage its bilateral ties with both countries.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Saturday that Moscow has requested explanations from Washington and Ankara regarding reports of a potential transfer to Kyiv of a large stockpile of U.S. weapons and ammunition held in Turkey.
Zakharova said such a transfer would cause serious harm to Russia's bilateral relations with both the United States and Turkey.
Turkey's Request
According to reports, Turkey asked Washington last week for permission to send Ukraine tens of thousands of artillery shells and cluster munition rockets that have sat in Ankara's stockpiles for decades. The munitions were manufactured under a license granted by the U.S. in 1987.
Neither the United States nor Turkey has signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which bans the use, sale and export of weapons that scatter explosive submunitions over wide areas.
Civilian Risk Concerns
Human Rights Watch has warned that about 40% of these submunitions, sometimes called bomblets, fail to detonate on impact, effectively turning into landmines capable of injuring civilians long after fighting ends.
The U.S. maintained an annual moratorium on cluster munition exports from 2009 to 2023, before President Joe Biden bypassed the restriction that year to allow the weapons to be sent to Ukraine.
