Russia Exports Almost $4.3 Bln In Arms To EU Annually – European Commission

Russia’s annual arms exports to the European Union total almost $4.3 billion, a European Commission representative told journalists Wednesday.

Russia exports an average of €3.2 billion ($4.3 billion) in weaponry to Europe annually, while the European Union supplies Russia with roughly €300 million ($402 million) in arms, the representative said.

According to the source, the European Union sells Russia almost $27 million (€20 million) in goods and high-tech equipment that can be used both for peaceful and military purposes, but goods directly related to military purposes have now been targeted for EU sanctions.

In 2013, Russia’s total arms and military hardware exports yielded $15.7 billion dollars, with a further $5.6 billion swell its coffers over the first half of this year, while orders for Russian arms exports have reach $50 billion.

On Tuesday, the European Union agreed on a new set of sectoral economic sanctions against Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, which impose an embargo on arms trading, establish an export ban for dual-use goods for military end users and curtail Russian access to sensitive technologies, particularly in the oil sector.

The sanctions are to be published on July 31 and go into effect on August 1. (Cihan/Today's Zaman)