Russia warns Czech Republic not to export Soviet-era weapons

Russia has issued a warning to the Czech Republic not to transfer weaponry dating back to its Warsaw Pact alliance with the Soviet Union to third countries, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Saturday.

The warning follows a formal Russian diplomatic message to the United States warning that shipments of arms by NATO countries to Ukraine could result in "unpredictable consequences."

Speaking to Czech news agency CTK, Lipavsky said there were no clauses in the original agreements that could prevent the Czech Republic from passing on weapons dating back to before the break-up of the Communist bloc in the early 1990s.

CTK also reported that the Czech Defence Ministry was not commenting on the nature of any weapons it might be supplying to Ukraine, following reports that dozens of Soviet-era T-72 tanks and BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles had been sent to Ukraine.

Ukraine has called for countries still in possession of Soviet-era heavy weapons to pass them on to the Ukrainian military, noting that their troops were familiar with such weapons and would not require further training.