TSAMTO, April 17. Moscow considers the transfer of Moroccan tanks that were undergoing modernization in the Czech Republic to Ukraine to be a blatant fact. This, as RIA Novosti reports, was stated on April 17 by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
She noted that, according to the data available to the Russian Federation, even before the start of the special military operation, Morocco had signed a contract with the Czech company Excalibur Army spol. s r.o. for the modernization of a batch of 130 T-72B tanks purchased in 1999-2001 in Belarus. According to M. Zakharova, after carrying out the relevant work, 56 tanks were returned to Morocco, and the remaining armored vehicles "in the amount of 74 pieces were actually expropriated by the Czech side for subsequent transfer to the combat zone in Ukraine."
"Moreover, the Moroccans, in fact, were put before a fait accompli. And at the same time, they made Belarusians guilty for not fulfilling the obligation stipulated in the terms of the contract for the purchase of these tanks not to transfer them to third countries without the consent of the supplier," RIA Novosti quotes M. Zakharova.
"We consider this egregious case as another evidence of the hostile anti–Russian course pursued by the Czech authorities, within the framework of which Prague does not hesitate to violate the basic norms of international law regulating the arms trade and seize other people's property," she added.
