Speaking at an arms export commission in Moscow, Putin stressed that while selling weapons is a multibillion-dollar business for Russia, it ensures that the bottom line never undermines the stability of the regions to which the weapons are delivered. He said this approach contrasted with that of “some actors in the arms market,” refraining from naming the culprits, but apparently referring to the US and several of its allies.
“Instead of a genuine fight against terrorist groups we see a simulation of this fight while uncontrolled arms deliveries grow. One day the weapons go to so-called ‘moderate opposition’ in this or that place, and the next day they are in the hands of radicals and terrorists,” Putin said. “It appears that the conflict zones have become for some just a lucrative business, a link in the chain of ‘gray’ schemes of supply of arms to nations and regions suffering from military and political instability.”
A lack of accountability for US-provided weapons is also endemic in Afghanistan. Hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of lethal hardware disappeared without a trace in the county since the US-led invasion in 2001.
US claims that it has safeguards to prevent such incidents are empty talk not founded in reality, military analyst Konstantin Sivkov told RT. “They don’t control even the people they train. A couple of years ago CIA sources admitted that an absolute majority of the ‘moderate opposition’ fighters they had trained ended up in the ranks of IS. Only a handful remained moderate. And they took their US-provided arms to Islamic State too.”
“Armed irregular forces have an inclination to morph, that’s part of their nature. So there is absolutely no way to control their arms,” he added. Sivkov agreed with Putin that ‘gray’ arms deliveries could be profitable to those involved, including manufacturers, senior officials making decisions on the supply chain and intermediaries on the ground.