Russia demands answers from US and Turkey over reported arms transfer to Kyiv

Russia has formally requested an explanation from Washington and Ankara concerning reports that Turkey is seeking permission to transfer to Ukraine a "substantial arsenal" of United States-made weapons and ammunition that have been stored in Turkish stockpiles for decades, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry said on Saturday. Maria Zakharova, in a statement, warned that such a transfer would cause "serious harm … to our bilateral relations with Washington and Ankara," underscoring Moscow's sensitivity to any move that would bolster Kyiv's military capabilities. The request for clarification comes after it was reported last week that Turkey had asked the United States for authorisation to send tens of thousands of artillery projectiles and cluster munitions rockets to Ukraine, munitions that were originally produced under a 1987 licensing agreement with the US and have remained in Ankara's inventories ever since.

The potential transfer is complicated by the nature of the weaponry involved, as cluster munitions are subject to international restrictions, though neither the United States nor Turkey is a signatory to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the use, sale and export of such weapons due to their indiscriminate effects. Human Rights Watch has highlighted the dangers posed by these munitions, warning that approximately 40% of the submunitions, or bomblets, they disperse fail to explode on impact, effectively becoming "de facto anti-personnel landmines" that can maim and kill civilians long after a conflict has ended. The United States had re-enacted a moratorium on the export of cluster munitions annually between 2009 and 2023, a policy that was circumvented by President Joe Biden when he authorised the transfer of such weapons to Ukraine last year, a decision that drew criticism from humanitarian groups. The reported plan to transfer additional stocks from Turkey would represent a further expansion of Kyiv's access to these controversial weapons, potentially escalating tensions with Moscow and complicating diplomatic relations between the parties involved.