The US Senate has approved a measure to prohibit the Pentagon from purchasing from Russia’s main arms exporter Rosoboronexport. The US’s stance that the company is supplying Syria with weapons was the reason for its decision.
The amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act proposed by Senator John Cornyn bars the Pentagon from spending money in 2013 on contracts with Rosoboronexport, including the purchase of more helicopters to be used in Afghanistan.
Yet the amendment clearly states that the ban can be overturned if “the Secretary of Defense determines that such a waiver is in the national security interests of the United States with respect to the capacity of the Afghan National Security Forces.”
In the past, the US has purchased helicopters from Rosoboronexport for the Afghan security forces, as part of a $367.5 million deal with the US signed in May 2011 for the delivery of 21 Mi-17s helicopters.
Rosoboronexport manages most of Russia’s weapons sales by cooperating with more than 60 countries and accounts for more than 90 per cent of annual arms sales.
http://rt.com/news/us-ban-russian-arms-039/