Russian fighters sent to Sudan in line with int’l norms

MOSCOW, July 23, 2004 (Interfax) — Supplying Russian MiG-29 combat planes to Sudan is fully within international norms, Valery Voskoboinikov, deputy head of the Defense Industry Department of the Russian Industry and Energy Ministry, told Interfax on Friday.

“Appropriate federal authorities supervise the supplies,” he said in commenting on U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher’s recent objection to the supply of arms to Sudan. The Russian aircraft building corporation MiG brought to completion this week a contract under which it was to deliver 12 MiG-29 planes to Sudan.

The delivery of MiG-29 combat planes to Sudan, if confirmed, will be a serious issue, Boucher told journalists earlier in Washington.

The United States opposes any delivery of weapons to Sudan, as this country sponsors terrorists, Boucher said. Deliveries of deadly military hardware to countries that sponsor terrorism will be punished with sanctions, in line with U.S. law, he said.

Another reason for strongly objecting to these supplies is the crisis in Sudan’s Darfur region, where violence continues to rage, Boucher said.