New Arms Made in NATO Countries Constantly Emerging in Syria Via Illegal Channels - Moscow

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th September, 2018) The emergence of new arms, including those made in NATO countries that are smuggled via illegal channels and fall into the hands of terrorists, has been constantly recorded in Syria, Deputy Director of the Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department at the Russian Foreign Ministry Vladislav Antonyuk said on Tuesday.

According to Antonyuk, who was speaking at an international conference against illegal arms supplies, despite the arms control commitments undertaken by Western countries, "weapons, including those produced in NATO countries, constantly get into the hands of terrorists" in Syria.

"Under the scheme used, arms are formally delivered to the countries neighboring Syria or to the third countries that can provide end-user certificates saying that arms will be used only in that particular country ... In spite of the commitments undertaken, arms are [further] transported through special channels to Syria by anti-government groups, including terrorists," Antonyuk stressed.

Moreover, the diplomat noted that arms suppliers often ignored the fact that their products did not reach their intended recipient.

Meanwhile, Ilya Rogachev, the director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's new challenges and threats department, suggested that terrorists in Syria and Iraq were supported with "centralized" supply of arms.

"It is quite obvious that conducting large-scale military operations for such a long time requires a huge amount of military equipment," Rogachev said.

Alaa Saeed Din Hamdan, the first secretary of the Syrian Foreign Ministry's international relations department, said earlier on Tuesday that the United States and its allies were supplying weapons to the Islamic State and Nusra Front terrorist groups (both banned in Russia), including via third countries.