MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - The Russian Foreign Ministry has branded the delivery of U.S.-made BGM-71 Tow anti-tank missiles for the Syrian armed opposition forces "a dangerous development" and expressed certainty that such supplies would not have been possible without the consent of the United States.
"There is a new dangerous development in the military confrontation between government troops and the armed opposition in Syria. We are talking about media reports and video files showing that the U.S. BGM-71 Tow portable anti-tank missile got into the hands of Syrian militants," the ministry's Department of Information and Press said in a commentary.
"In particular, according to the AFP (Agence France-Presse), the Harakat Hazm opposition group that some prefer to position as being a 'moderate' one has received 'from western sources' more than 20 of such systems. The militants reportedly underwent special training in handling this type of weapon," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
"If the U.S. administration did sanction the handover to Syrian opposition groups of these anti-tank systems, it runs counter its claims of being committed to the political resolution in Syria and de-escalation of the conflict," the commentary said.
"At any rate, such a serious supply 'from other sources' (these systems are in service in over 40 countries) could not have been carried out without U.S. consent, given the relevant requirements of the U.S. export control laws," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.