Madrid and London do not welcome the American decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine.
The Biden administration announced on Friday that the weapons will be included in the US’s next $800 million arms package to Kiev, a decision that has raised humanitarian concerns.
A cluster bomb is a weapon designed to disperse submunitions (or « bombs ») over a large area, potentially risking collateral damage to civilians. Washington is not part of 2010 Convention on Cluster Munitions, approved by over 100 countries, including the UK and Spain, and banning its use. Not even Russia and Ukraine.
“It is important to note that the Russian Federation has been using cluster munitions indiscriminately since the first day of the large-scale unprovoked aggression,” tweeted Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov after the US announcement. He pledged to use weapons with caution.
But the « five principles » that Kiev pledges to respect have failed to convince some European allies.
« Spain, based on the firm commitment it has with Ukraine, also has a firm commitment not to hand over certain weapons and bombs under any circumstances, » said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles. said journalists on Saturday. « No to cluster bombs and yes to self-defense of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs, » she said.
The UK is also determined to honor this pledge, as a « signatory to a convention which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use, » Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. She said on Saturday.
« We will continue to do our part to support Ukraine against the illegal and unprovoked invasion of Russia, but we have done so by supplying heavy tanks and more recently long-range weapons, and hopefully all countries can continue to support Ukraine, » Sunak said. .
Sunak is expected to meet US President Joe Biden in London on Monday, ahead of a NATO summit starting on Tuesday in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.
