MOSCOW, June 8. /TASS/. Western states are ignoring the fact that arms shipment to Ukraine are bound to lead to the rise of a black market of weapons, particularly in Western Europe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday.
"They believe that this is a one-way ticket. Well, it’s not actually, why? They believe that they are getting rid of obsolete weapons by shipping them either to Ukraine or to third countries, and they force older equipment on Ukraine. However, they forget that these arms shipments to Ukraine will lead to the rise of a black market of weapons, particularly in Western Europe," she said.
According to Zakharova, the authorities of supplier states have been silent on this issue so far, but independent experts and relevant structures, such as Interpol, are already sounding the alarm.
"They understand what all of this will lead to. According to media reports, international crime gangs have already developed game plans for arms exports from Ukraine, including heavy weapons. And some weapons are already in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo and so on. Right now, the West, the US and NATO in general display unparalleled concern about the fate of the Balkans. But we understand what future awaits the Balkans under NATO’s wing, and with such updated black arms market," the diplomat noted.
"Those who ship weapons to Kiev today will be responsible for the safety of their own citizens and for these weapons being obtained by criminals and terrorists. They will be responsible not from the standpoint of lawsuits and legal responsibility, but simply from the standpoint that, in the historic context, this will be recorded as so-called achievement of NATO-centric states, and they will not be able to avoid it. Evidence will pop up here and there, even as weapons emerge during investigations of contract killings, robberies, raids and so on," she added.