EU Studying European Weapon Supplies to Countries Supporting Syrian Militants

The arms could have then been delivered to Syrian militant groups, including Daesh jihadists, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, an EU inquiry suggested.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — The European Union is looking into data on weapons and ammunition supplies from Europe to countries that support armed opposition groups in Syria, an EU source told RIA Novosti on Tuesday, after an investigation revealed the potential flow of arms from a number of European countries to the Middle East.

"We are aware of the investigation’s data and we are studying it," the source said.

According to a joint investigation results conducted by the Balkan Network of Investigative Journalists (BIRN) and a project to investigate corruption and organized crime (OCCRP), since the escalation of the conflict in Syria in 2011, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania allowed the exports of weapons and munitions, totaling at least 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion), to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

The arms could have then been delivered to Syrian militant groups, including Daesh jihadists, outlawed in Russia and many other countries, the inquiry suggested.

EU member states and candidates for the bloc’s membership are required to assess the risk of the weapons they intend to sell to other states ending up in the arms of terrorists.