Prague (Times Of Ocean)- Russia has warned the Czech Republic not to transfer weaponry from its Warsaw Pact alliance with the Soviet Union to third countries, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday.
The warning comes after the US sent a formal diplomatic message to Russia warning that shipments of arms by NATO countries to Ukraine could result in “unpredictable consequences.”
Lipavsky told Czech news agency CTK that there were no clauses in the original agreements preventing the Czech Republic from passing on weapons dating back to before the break-up of the Soviet Union.
Following reports that dozens of Soviet-era T-72 tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles had been sent to Ukraine, CTK reported that the Czech Ministry of Defense would not comment on what type of weapons it might provide to Ukraine.
Ukraine has called on countries still in possession of Soviet-era heavy weapons to transfer them to the Ukrainian military, noting that its troops are familiar with such weapons and would not need further training.