GENEVA, September 23. /TASS/. With the connivance of Western countries, Ukraine has become one of the largest hubs for the global black market in weapons, said head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control Yulia Zhdanova.

"Obviously, because the West and Kiev ignored the basic principles of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on conventional weapons transfer in order to achieve their political and defense industry goals, Ukraine in fact became one of the major hubs of the international black market in weapons," she said. "This is a threat not only to the OSCE member states, but also to countries on other continents."

"However, the West is not even thinking about how to prevent a destabilizing accumulation of conventional weapons in Ukraine. On the contrary, it is facilitating it," she told the plenary meeting of the Forum for Security Cooperation at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

The diplomat went on to say that illegal trade in Western weapons and military equipment in Ukraine has become widespread and is now largely controlled by Ukrainian and international organized crime groups, operating under the protection of state officials, Ukrainian military commanders and intelligence services.

In Zhdanova’s words, the illegal trade is being supplied primarily with weapons delivered to the Kiev regime by OSCE members from the West.

"In the context of today’s discussion, it is extremely important to note that these supplies are being carried out in violation of the OSCE Principles Governing Conventional Arms Transfers (1993) and the OSCE Document on Small Arms and Light Weapons (2000)," the Russian diplomat added.