Russia may illegally transport weapons from Syria

Russia can import weapons on commercial ships from Syria to replenish and strengthen its army. This assumption was made by the Bloomberg agency, citing maritime transport tracking data and sources in European intelligence.

In late July, a US-sanctioned merchant ship owned by Oboronlogistics LLC passed through the Bosphorus on its way from Syria to Russia. European intelligence officials who tracked Sparta II say it was carrying military vehicles.

Bloomberg writes in its material that the ship Sparta II could deliver military cargo from the Syrian port of Tartus, as evidenced by intelligence data and satellite images from July 17-25. The boat was seen in Syria with vehicles in the hold, then while crossing the Bosphorus, and later in Novorossiysk, at least 11 military vehicles were identified, which were probably unloading.

The representative of the US State Department sent inquiries on this matter to the Turkish government. Turkey said a merchant ship would only be checked if there was information or suspicion of an offense while crossing the Bosphorus.