MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. A number of "authoritative" European countries are against the United States’ weapons supplies to Ukraine and are reluctant to join, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Deistvuyushchiye Litsva (Political Actors) with Nailya Asker-zade program on the Rossiya-1 television channel on Sunday.
"Europe is not silent, it raises objections [against US’ arms supplies to Ukraine] in a low voice, not in public," he noted. "According to our data, they voice disagreement in talks with the United States in response to Washington’s imperative demands that Europe join such supplies."
"The United States is now seeking to lure into these plans a number of countries known for their Russophobic moods, namely our Baltic neighbors and Poland," he noted. "We have information that big, authoritative European states see perfectly well that such actions are highly dangerous and are trying to reason their neighbors because the Americans and the Canadians have already launched such supplies. And this is regrettable."
"We cannot prohibit the Americans to supply anything anywhere but, naturally, we will make conclusions," Lavrov stressed. "It is a fact of life that representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk, who are capable of defending themselves, are keeping an eye on the situation. I think it should be born in mind as well."
Kiev has been asking the United States for years to supply new types of weapons, first of all, anti-tank armaments. In late December 2017, US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert said that Washington had decided to provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to deter further aggression." According to the ABC TV channel, US President Donald Trump was expected to approve the plan stipulating the supply of anti-tank weapons to Ukraine worth $47 bln. The shipment may particularly include Javelin anti-tank missiles. If Trump approves the plan, it will be submitted to the US Congress for approval.