The United States said Friday that it has raised concerns with Russia and Cyprus over a Russian ship suspected of carrying munitions to Syria. "With regard to the ship, we have raised our concerns about this, both with Russia and with Cyprus, which was the last port of call for the ship," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said.
"And we are continuing to seek clarification as to what went down here," Nuland added. She recalled that US government officials have long "called for all countries that continue to trade and supply weapons with Syria to stop."
For nearly a year Syria has been in the grips of an uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, with Western leaders calling for the embattled strongman to step down as the death toll has risen into the thousands. But Moscow has steadfastly stuck by its ally Damascus.
The Cypriot foreign ministry said Wednesday the Saint Vincent-flagged cargo ship was allowed to refuel and set sail from the port of Limassol after its Russian owners agreed to change the destination from Syria. On Friday the vessel's Saint Petersburg-based operator Westberg Ltd said the Chariot decided to keep to its original schedule after leaving the Cyprus port.
"It was classified as a dangerous cargo, but that could really mean anything. We are not responsible for knowing what was inside the crates," a source at the shipping company told AFP. An independent Russian military analyst has reported that the ship was likely to dock at the Syrian port of Tartus with what media said may be up to 60 tonnes of ammunition supplied by the state Russian arms exporter.
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