US Arms Deliveries to Ukraine Would Escalate Conflict – Austrian FM

Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said that US arms sales to Ukraine would definitely lead to further escalation in Donbas.

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — The United States should not provide Kiev with lethal assistance, as this would only escalate the Ukraine conflict, Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz said Monday.

“US arms sales would definitely lead to further escalation and are therefore clearly rejected,” Kurz said on his Twitter account.

The minister noted that some 5,000 people have already been killed in the armed conflict in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, while more than a million have fled the violence.

“Our short-term goal must be permanent ceasefire,” Kurz, who is currently in Brussels to discuss the situation in Ukraine with other EU foreign ministers, said.

Ukrainian authorities, who have carried out a military operation against Donbas independence supporters since April last year, have repeatedly called for NATO members to send weapons.

While the United States is currently considering the issue, the idea has been rejected by a number of EU states, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Earlier on Monday, the Spanish foreign ministry warned against providing Kiev with lethal assistance as well, stating that Spain does not see a military solution to the conflict.