Biden Defends Decision To Send Ukraine Controversial Weapons
US President Joe Biden has defended his “very difficult decision” to give Ukraine cluster bombs, which have a record of killing civilians.
The president said it had taken him “a while to be convinced to do it“, but he had acted because “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition”.
Ukraine’s leader hailed the “timely” move.
But the UK’s PM suggested the country “discourages” the use of cluster bombs, while Spain criticised the decision.
When asked about his position on the US decision, Rishi Sunak highlighted the UK was one of 123 countries that had signed up to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and discourages their use.
Spain’s Defence Minister Margarita Robles told reporters her country had a “firm commitment” that certain weapons and bombs could not be sent to Ukraine.
“No to cluster bombs and yes to the legitimate defence of Ukraine, which we understand should not be carried out with cluster bombs,” she said.
But Germany, which is a signatory of the treaty, said that while it would not provide such weapons to Ukraine it understood the American position.
“We’re certain that our US friends didn’t take the decision about supplying such ammunition lightly,” German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit told reporters in Berlin.
Mr Biden said, in an interview on Friday that he had spoken to allies about the decision, which was announced ahead of a Nato summit in Lithuania next week.
The US, Ukraine and Russia have not signed up to the convention, and both Moscow and Kyiv have used cluster bombs during the war.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told Friday’s daily White House briefing that officials “recognise the cluster munitions create a risk of civilian harm” from unexploded bombs.
But he said Ukraine was running out of artillery and needed “a bridge of supplies” while the US ramps up domestic production.
“We will not leave Ukraine defenceless at any point in this conflict period,” he said.
Ukraine’s defence minister has given assurances the cluster bombs would not be used in urban areas and only to break through enemy defence lines.
BBC/ Lateefah Ibrahim
