MOSCOW, April 17. /TASS/. Moscow views the seizure by Prague of tanks belonging to Morocco, but undergoing upgrades in the Czech Republic, so as to transfer them to Ukraine as an egregious case of de facto expropriation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a commentary circulated on Monday.
"We consider this egregious case to be yet further evidence of the hostile anti-Russian course pursued by the Czech authorities, within the framework of which Prague does not hesitate to stoop to violating fundamental provisions of international law regulating arms trade, and to seize the property of others. We observe with regret that the sad experience of World War II is being repeated, when Czech enterprises, being a part of the military-industrial complex of Nazi Germany, indefatigably supplied the Third Reich with armaments for prosecuting its war against the USSR," the diplomat noted, answering a media query about whether the Czech Republic had passed Morocco’s tanks on to Ukraine.
"It looks like the current leadership of the Czech Republic has learned nothing from history, as they have eagerly turned their country into one of the primary sites for the production, repair, and modernization of military equipment to be sent to Kiev's neo-Nazi regime," Zakharova stressed.
The diplomat pointed out that the goals and objectives of the collective West are quite clear: to help drag the conflict in Ukraine on and thereby inflict maximum damage on Russia, even if this requires continuing the fight down to "the last Ukrainian."
When asked to comment on media reports that Moroccan tanks that were undergoing upgrades in the Czech Republic may have ended up in the war zone in Ukraine, the diplomat said: "Indeed, we have seen these reports. We are continuing to look into it."
Zakharova said that, according to available data, before the start of the Russian special military operation, Morocco had signed a contract with Czech company Excalibur Army spol. s r.o. to upgrade its 130 T-72B tanks, purchased in 1999-2001 in Belarus. "After the work was done, 56 tanks were returned to the kingdom [of Morocco]. [But] the remaining 74 armored vehicles were de facto expropriated by the Czech side for further transfer to the war zone in Ukraine," she went on to say.
"The Moroccans were effectively presented with a fait accompli. Moreover, they were made to be culpable before the Belarusians for failing to honor their commitment not to transfer these tanks to third countries without the supplier’s consent, as stipulated under the contract," Zakharova stressed.