US Move to Arm Ukraine Will Break Intl Accords, Russia's UN Envoy Says

The United States would violate a number of international agreements if it started supplying weapons to the Ukrainian military at the request of the government in Kiev, Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin said on Monday.

"The US has taken a selective approach to international law many times. Therefore, such a decision /on weapons/ cannot be ruled out," Churkin told Rossiya 24 TV news channel.

Talking about potential deployment of UN peacekeepers in eastern Ukraine, Churkin said such a move was theoretically possible but it wasn't "fitting into the logic" of the preparations for the meeting of the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in Belarus' capital Minsk scheduled for Wednesday.

"There are schemes which can be used. There are countries, which can provide their forces," Churkin said. "But all this requires a political solution, and today it is not apparent to me that such an option is being discussed."

The US administration has been under increasing pressure from members of Congress in recent days to supply heavy artillery to Kiev government forces fighting with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine while US NATO allies in Europe are trying to convince President Obama not to send arms to Ukraine for fear of worsening the situation.

According to Lamberto Zannier, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE),  the US risks provoking  "a more direct intervention" by Russia in the Ukraine conflict if it sends weapons to Kiev government forces.

While the West believes the Ukrainian rebels have been armed by Russia, Moscow has repeatedly denied providing weapons and manpower  to the separatists.