Russian Foreign Ministry: Moscow did not supply Croatia with S300 surface-to air missile in the 1990s
Russia did not supply the S-300 surface-to-air missile systems (SAM) to Croatia in the 1990s, bypassing the arms embargo imposed by the UN, as stated by the Deputy Head of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Artem Kozhin. The text of his statement is published on the official website of the Ministry.
Kozhin commented on reports which appeared in the Croatian media stating that Russia supplied the SAM to Croatia. In particular, on April 13th Croatian newspaper Večernji list reported on military deliveries from Russia. According to Croatian journalists, arms deliveries were made during the conflict in the Balkans, when the arms embargo imposed by the UN was in place. The publication claims that the deliveries were made between 1992 and 1997. The S-300 was delivered among other military equipment in 1995. The authors of the article argue that presently the Russian Ambassador to Zagreb, Anwar Azimov, is demanding from the intermediaries a complete list of weapons supplied to the Croatian army.
The comments by Russian diplomats emphasize that Russia "has consistently adhered to its international legal obligations, including those regarding the embargo on arms deliveries to the conflicting parties during the Yugoslav crisis." "We consider this published information provocative and a gross distortion of facts, aimed at smearing Russian policy in the Balkans," the Foreign Ministry said. In addition, the Ministry stressed that "in the context of all these speculations" it is not relevant to mention the current Russian Ambassador to Croatia, Anvar Azimov.
In early March the UN reported the detection of illegal supplies of weapons by North Korea to the countries in Africa. According to the organization's experts, North Korean weapons were supplied to states which were under international sanctions.