Arms Trade Treaty to confirm EU obligations on arms passage - Russian diplomat
MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Moscow welcomes the Arms Trade Treaty's (ATT) entry into force on December 24, 2014 will confirm the European Union's legal obligations concerning the passage of weapons to third countries in light of the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement summing up outcomes of Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov's conversation with Head of the EU Delegation to Russia Vygaudas Usackas.
"Sergei Ryabkov said he was satisfied that the ATT's entry into force will reaffirm the European Union's already existing legal obligations in the area of the transfers of weapons to third countries, which is especially important in the context of the situation in Ukraine and around it," the ministry said.
The statement did not specify what exactly EU obligations it implied.
"Russia emphasized the importance of the creation by the ATT signatories of national systems of control over the transfer of weapons similar to the one that the Russian Federation set up long ago and which is functioning efficiently," it said.
"The ATT's significant drawbacks have also been mentioned, due to which the Russian Federation has so far refrained from joining the treaty," it said.
Taking part in the meeting were representatives of the embassies of the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Spain, Italy, Poland, Romania, Finland and France.
The diplomats also discussed outcomes of the negotiating round on the Iranian nuclear program that recently took place in Vienna.