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Hungary’s arms supplies to Kiev violate Budapest’s legal obligations - RF Foreign Ministry

Hungarian online newspaper claimed the Hungarian Defense Ministry was using an “authorized agency” to deliver armored vehicles to Ukraine

MOSCOW, August 16 /ITAR-TASS/. Hungary’s arms supplies to Kiev are violating Budapest’s legal obligations in conventional arms exports, Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The comments followed reports in the Hungarian online newspaper Hidfo.Net which claimed the Hungarian Defense Ministry was using an “authorized agency” to deliver armored vehicles, including T-72 tanks, to Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that arms exports, if such were taking place, were violating the EU common position, which obliges the EU states not to export products capable of causing or aggravating armed conflicts and see that a recipient country observes international humanitarian law.

Arms exports to Ukraine are also breaching the international Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), the Russian Foreign Ministry went on to say. The document forbids arms transfers to parties in conflict if there is a probability that the weapons can be used for committing genocide and crimes against humanity.

“We assume that in the light of Kiev’s indisputable and fragrant violations of the rules of applying weapons in internal conflicts any additional comments would be unnecessary,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

“We would like to ask our colleagues in the European Union one simple question: what was the purpose of pushing multilateral commitments in control over arms transfers so actively, if they are violating them so cynically?” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in conclusion.