VILNIUS, January 27. /TASS/. Estonia set to provide Kiev with cluster munitions from the arsenals of its armed forces, the country’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told the country’s national TV and radio broadcaster ERR.
"I see no problem with providing Ukraine with cluster munitions, since both sides are using them on the territory of Ukraine," he said.
Estonia has a stockpile of German-made cluster munitions since 1990s. Germany, whose consent is required for re-exporting those projectiles to Ukraine, earlier decided to stop producing or using them.
Pevkur said his country would provide pro-Kiev forces with an unknown number of 155mm artillery munitions.
"I do not think that I should disclose details of the agreement, such as numbers or assortment of those items," the minister said.
More than 100 countries have joined the Convention on Cluster Munitions, prohibiting the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs. Estonia and Ukraine are not among them.
Cluster munitions are charges, loaded with a large number of smaller explosive sub-munitions of various purpose: anti-tank, anti-personnel, incendiary and so on. Many states use them as bombs, artillery shells and missile warheads. On August 1, 2010, 123 countries signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but only 110 ratified it. In particular, the signatories vowed to never produce, use and hand over such munitions to anyone. In Europe, the Convention was not signed by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Greece, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland and Estonia. Cyprus signed the document but did not ratify it.