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US credit for Ukraine is Kiev-Washington bilateral affair — Kremlin

The Kremlin believes that the supplies of lethal weapons would "by no means help settle the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine"
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov  Mikhail Metzel/TASS
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov
© Mikhail Metzel/TASS

MOSCOW, September 19. /TASS/. Whether the United States will grant a loan to Ukraine is a bilateral affair of the two countries, but the Kremlin remains critical of the possibility of lethal weapons supplies to Kiev, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

"Granting a loan is a matter of Ukrainian-US relations," Peskov said. "Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko also mentioned lethal weapons… Such a decision would by no means help settle the conflict in the southeast of Ukraine."

Nor would it help downscale tensions there, he warned. Peskov recalled the Russian authorities, including President Vladimir Putin, had made statements to that effect more than once.

As far as the loan is concerned, Peskov said "it is Poroshenko’s own statement only, but there have been no statements by the American side on that score."

Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko on Tuesday said on his Facebook page the Senate of the US Congress approved of disbursing $500 million on defense and security support for Ukraine. Earlier, it was announced that the Senate on Monday voted for giving Ukraine $150 million in the 2018 fiscal year (the original intention was to extend $350 million). The US Defense Secretary has the right to use only $75 million of his own accord. If more funding is required, the chief of the Pentagon and the secretary of state will be obliged to present a number of reports to Congress.