Regarding the North American announcement of sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MNE) and the Ministry of National Defense (MDN), in a joint written reply to Lusa, recalled those responsible that Portugal is “a signatory of the Oslo Convention on Burst Munitions, which promotes a ban on cluster bombs”.
“It should be remembered that this type of weapon can inflict casualties over a very wide area and sometimes even long after they are launched,” the MNE and MDN say.
The two ministries also guaranteed that “Portugal will continue to support Ukraine in its legitimate defense against the illegal and unjustified invasion by Russia”.
The United Kingdom, Spain and Canada have also spoken out against the use of cluster bombs.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recalled that the United Kingdom is one of the 123 signatories to the 2008 Cluster Munitions Convention, noting that London is supplying tanks and long-range weapons to Kiev to fight against the Russian invasion.
“No to cluster bombs but to the legitimate defense of Ukraine, which in our opinion should not be carried out with cluster bombs,” said Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
The US government today defended Russia as the “only obstacle” to a “just peace”, a day after announcing it would supply cluster munitions (TROS), overcoming a major barrier in the type of armaments offered to Kiev to defend against Russia.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan stressed on Friday that the munitions they will deliver have a non-explosion rate — that is, they remain unexploded in the ground — of less than 2.35%, indicating that there are will be much less unexploded grenades that can lead to accidental civilian deaths.
By contrast, the cluster bombs Russia has reportedly used have a 30 to 40 percent non-explosion rate, Sullivan said.
More than a hundred countries, including NATO members such as France and Germany, oppose the use of cluster bombs and have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, to which Ukraine, Russia and the United States are not parties.
Before confirmation by the White House, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had also condemned the use of cluster munitions, as had non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
