Russia considers the U.S. decision to supply arms to anti-government rebels in Syria a “hostile” act, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement released Tuesday.
Referring to the $600-plus billion National Defense Authorization Act that U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law earlier this month, Zakharova said measures to give certain rebels, “who are not very different from bloody thugs,” access to weapons including Man-Portable Air Defense Systems was a “direct threat” Russian aircraft, military personnel and Moscow’s Syrian embassy.
Zakharova said the weapons were likely to land in the hands of terrorists.
Moscow believes the annual defense spending bill was an attempt to undermine the incoming Trump administration, she added.
“The passing of this law in the last days of team Obama is an indication the administration is planting a landmine for the future administration of Donald Trump, in an attempt to complicate affairs in the international arena,” Zakharova said.
The decision to renew U.S. sanctions on Russia was an attempt to impose the outgoing administration’s “vicious anti-Russian course” on a Trump presidency, she said. “We hope that those who succeed them will be wiser.”
Zakharova also dismissed U.S. claims that Russia’s actions in its region threaten NATO members.
“It is unclear how we threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of NATO countries,” she said. “After all, the Americans and their allies demonstrate increased military activity, push the boundaries of the alliance and bring their military capability closer to our borders. Naturally, we have to take into account such developments in the implementation of our own programs of development of the armed forces.”