MOSCOW, July 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia hopes that the arrival of observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the Ukrainian border will alleviate fears that border crossings are being used to deliver arms, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.
“I asked [Secretary of State] John Kerry to instruct his employees not to interfere in this agreement. Let’s hope that this will alleviate the suspicion, as we are periodically told, that these border crossings controlled by the Ukrainian independence forces are being used to massively deliver arms and military personnel from Russia to Ukraine,” Lavrov said during a briefing, noting that two weeks ago Russian President Vladimir Putin invited observers to two border crossings between Russia and Ukraine.
On July 25, White House spokesman Josh Earnest voiced the belief that independence supporters in the east of Ukraine receive arms from Russia, suggesting that the Malaysia Airlines plane was downed by a missile supplied from Moscow.
Earlier on July 24, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf claimed that Washington had “information about arms continuing to flow across the border,” as well as “evidence that the Russians intend to deliver heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers to the separatist forces in Ukraine.”
The West has repeatedly accused Russia of supplying independence supporters with weapons. Moscow has rejected the claims saying it does not supply militia with any weapons and there are no Russian military units or any special divisions in Ukraine.
Moscow has also dismissed accusations of interfering in Ukraine’s affairs saying that Russia is not a party in the inter-Ukrainian conflict. Putin said that before accusing Russia, one has to show real evidence.
