NEW YORK, August 12. /TASS/. Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US nongovernmental organization designated undesirable in Russia, called on the US Congress to block Turkey’s request to transfer tens of thousands of cluster munition rockets and artillery projectiles to the Kiev authorities, according to a statement on the organization’s website.
"Dumping obsolete cluster munitions into a conflict creates a humanitarian liability for civilians," Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director at Human Rights Watch, said. "The impact on civilians of these more than 30-year-old inaccurate and unreliable munitions is what motivated 112 countries to ban the weapon by joining the international Convention on Cluster Munitions."
"These types of cluster munitions are notorious for their record of not hitting their targets and hurting civilians," Widdersheim said. "They should never be used. Congress can still act to stop this short-sighted and dangerous transfer."
Earlier in August, the US State Department notified Congress that Turkey could transfer obsolete US weapons worth $255.9 million to Kiev, including multiple launch rocket systems and munitions. The Department said that the US government was prepared to authorize this transfer.
Moscow has repeatedly said that Western arms supplies to Kiev and assistance in training Ukrainian troops only prolong the conflict and do not change the situation on the battlefield.