Slovakia accused of violating international obligations in Russian weapons’ transfer to Ukraine

A key Russian government agency has accused Slovakia of violating international export control regulations and contractual obligations in the transfer of Russian-made weapons to Ukraine. Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) in a statement stated that Slovakia had "grossly violated international obligations on the re-export of Russian-made weapons," as stipulated in the Agreement between Russian and Slovak governmentson Military-Technical Cooperation of April 29, 1997.

The FSMTC's statement came in response to the Slovak Ministry of Defence's announcement that it had delivered the first batch of MiG-29 aircraft to Ukraine. Slovakia last month became the second Nato member country to send warplanes to Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict. The country sent 4 MiG 29 fighter jets to the country irking Moscow.

Pointing to the 1997 agreement, the statement said, "Contracting Parties will not sell or transfer weapons and military equipment to third countries without the written consent of the other Contracting Party".

Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) is responsible for control and oversight in the field of military-technical cooperation between Russia and foreign countries and is managed by the Russian President. FSMTC is subordinated to the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation, which coordinates and controls its activities.

The Slovak Ministry of Defence denied having such a document in their archives, which the FSMTC claims could be an attempt to mislead. The FSMTC has offered to provide a copy of the intergovernmental document stored in Russian archives to assist the Slovak side.

The Russian agency also accused Slovakia of violating contractual obligations, including Article 14.6 of the contract signed with the Ministry of Defence of Slovakia on July 8, 1993. This article states that the customer will not sell or transfer special equipment and technical documentation or information about them to other countries without the consent of the supplier.

Furthermore, the Slovak Ministry of Defence terminated a contract in 2009 for subscription service of MiG-29 aircraft of the Slovak Air Force. The FSMTC pointed out that the Russian side has been fulfilling its obligations to maintain the aircraft in combat-ready condition, but the Slovak side has not resolved issues regarding the return of expensive equipment imported for aircraft maintenance and payment for services already rendered.

The Russian statement said, "The equipment delivered under the conditions of temporary importation continues to be illegally held by the Slovak Side and can be transferred to Ukraine. According to our assessment, the above arguments indisputably indicate a violation by the Slovak Side not only of its contractual obligations, but also of international export control regulations."

(With inputs from agencies)

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