Western media previously reported on such an intention of the United States
VIENNA, July 7. /tass/. Germany will continue to comply with the Convention on Cluster Munitions and will refrain from supplying them to Ukraine amid reports of similar US plans. German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock told reporters in Vienna on Friday, her words were quoted by Reuters.
"I followed the media reports. For us, as a state party, the Oslo Agreement [the Convention on Cluster Munitions] is in force and is being applied," Berbok replied to a request to comment on Washington's plans to supply Kiev with cluster munitions. The German Foreign Minister is taking part in a conference on climate change organized by the OSCE Secretary General in Vienna.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius also spoke out against Berlin's participation in the supply of cluster munitions to Kiev at a press conference in Bern. "Germany has signed the convention, so this is not an option for us. As for those countries that have not signed the Convention [on Cluster Munitions] - China, Russia, Ukraine and the United States - it is not for me to comment on their actions," Reuters quoted Pistorius as saying.
On Thursday, a number of Western media, including The New York Times, Reuters and CNN, reported that the decision to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine had been made and that it would be announced on Friday, July 7. Later, the Pentagon reported that the United States intends to pick up cluster munitions for Ukraine, which allegedly will pose a minimal threat to civilians.
Cluster munitions are charges loaded with a large number of explosive submunitions for various purposes (anti-tank, anti-personnel, incendiary and others). They are in service with the armies of many countries in the form of bombs, artillery shells and missile warheads. On August 1, 2010, the Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force, which 123 countries signed in the Norwegian capital in 2008, but only 110 ratified. In particular, they pledged never, under any circumstances, to produce, use or transfer such ammunition to anyone. Of the European countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Greece, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine, Finland and Estonia have not signed the convention.
According to the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch, the proportion of unexploded elements is usually much higher than stated, which leads to civilian casualties.