Ukraine major arms supplier to Georgia - Russia's military

Ukraine major arms supplier to Georgia - Russia's military (NSI News Source Info) MOSCOW - September 13, 2008: Ukraine was the leading arms supplier to Georgia prior to its conflict with Russia over South Ossetia last month, the deputy chief of Russia's General Staff told an international forum on Saturday. "Ukraine is the leader of supplies, univocally and unconditionally, as regards the volume of weapons provided to Georgia," Anatoly Nogovitsyn told the participants in the annual Valdai International Discussion Club meeting. Russia previously condemned the U.S. for supplying arms to Georgia before and during the five-day operation "to force Georgia to peace" including by shipments claimed to be purely humanitarian. "The fact that the Georgian army had been armed by our American partners is already undisputable, nobody even tries to challenge it," Russia's prime minister Vladimir Putin said in an interview with French Le Figaro on Saturday. This year, the Valdai Club discusses the 21st century international geopolitical revolution and Russia's role in it. The discussions are organized by RIA Novosti, the Foreign and Defense Policy Council, The Moscow News paper, and the Russia in Global Affairs and Russia Profile magazines. Around 80 political scientists, experts and journalists from Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany, France, Switzerland and other countries are taking part.