WASHINGTON, June 12. /TASS/. Reports that the US removed the ban on providing weapons to Ukraine’s Azov regiment (designated as a terrorist organization and banned in Russia) causes utter resentment, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov said.
"Such steps by Washington in relation to an openly nationalist formation can cause nothing but extreme indignation," he said in a statement on Telegram.
The Washington Post earlier reported, citing a statement from the US State Department, that the US had authorized weapon supplies to Azov, lifting a years-long ban.
"The most serious concerns arise not only in relation to America’s strategy in Ukraine, but also in relation to US approaches in the fight against terrorism," the diplomat said.
He likened giving weapons into the nationalist unit to the US policy of encouraging the creation of armed units in the Middle East.
"That resulted in such dreadful phenomena as ISIS (banned in Russia - TASS), the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, millions of refugees, including in Europe, and the prolongation of bloody conflicts for decades," Antonov said.
The ambassador said Russia holds a clear and consistent position on the need to fight terrorism.
"We are in favor of multilateral cooperation and collaboration to eradicate this cancerous tumor. Russia is against politicized attempts to divide criminals into good ones and bad ones," the diplomat said, "Bastards without a homeland and without conscience should be punished and isolated, but not used for momentary goals.".