Russia Requests Clarifications from US and Turkey on Arms Supplies to Ukraine

The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested clarifications from Washington and Ankara in connection with information published by the US Congress about possible US-Turkish arms supplies to Ukraine, said official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova.

"The Russian Foreign Ministry has requested clarifications from Washington and Ankara in connection with the information published by the US Congress," Zakharova said in a response to a media question, published on the Foreign Ministry's website on Saturday.

As the Foreign Ministry representative noted, such supplies are not capable of "seriously influencing the development of the special military operation according to the fair Russian scenario."

"It is not only about the casualties and destruction that the Kyiv authorities seek to scale up, but also about serious damage to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara," Zakharova stressed.

According to Zakharova, "multifaceted damage from such supplies is inevitable."

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry was asked to comment on information about the possible transfer to Ukraine of a large batch of weapons and ammunition of American origin, which are currently at the disposal of the Turkish army.

As Zakharova explained, "judging by the documents recently published by the US Congress, we are talking about an impressive arsenal, including offensive means." "In particular, twelve multiple launch rocket systems and more than 2,500 unguided cluster munitions for them, 47,000 cluster artillery shells of 203 mm caliber, and 70 operational-tactical ATACMS missiles are mentioned," she specified.

"The fact that the circumstances and conditions of such a large-scale 'transfer' of lethal products remain extremely contradictory draws attention. It is unclear who initiated the re-export, how and when the bulky lethal cargo is intended to be delivered to Kyiv recipients," Zakharova noted.

In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry representative said, "we are talking about countries that claim a special role in settling the Ukrainian crisis, declaring the priority search for a political and diplomatic solution as their goal."

According to Zakharova, supplying Ukraine with weapons and simultaneous "attempts to use peacekeeping rhetoric" "inevitably undermine mutual trust, especially against the background of repeated assurances by Turkish representatives that Turkey avoids 'lethal' supplies to Kyiv."