GENEVA, November 17. /TASS/. The West is turning a blind eye to the use of anti-personnel mines and trap mines against civilians by Ukraine’s armed forces, Konstantin Vorontsov, Deputy Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Nonproliferation and Arms Control said on Thursday.
"Western countries are turning a blind eye to the Ukrainian army using anti-personnel mines and trap mines even against civilians, to the continued active mining of populated localities," he said at the Geneva-hosted meeting of member states of the "Inhumane" Weapons Convention.
Since late July, bombardments with ordnance stuffed with PFM-1 anti-personnel mines have become more frequent. Ukrainian troops rigged with mines Donetsk as well as the communities of Yasinovataya, Makeyevka and Panteleymonovka. Lepestok mines were scattered along streets, near learning institutions and other civilian facilities.
The West prefers to look the other way and this "leads to a further degradation of the international legal system in the sphere of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation," the Russian diplomat asserted. Moscow "is not going to put up with this state of affairs." Russia will continue to take steps to bolster the "Inhumane" Weapons Convention and its protocols. "We are urging those member states who are not indifferent to international peace and security as well as the lives of civilians, to join our effort," Vorontsov said.
The United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, also called the "Inhumane" Weapons Convention entered into force on December 2, 1983. To date, it has been joined by 126 states. The main purpose of this document is to prohibit or restrict the use of certain conventional weapons which are considered excessively injurious to civilians and servicemen.