U.S. senators' opinion on arms supply to Ukraine not yet formal stance – Russian official

Arms supplies to Ukraine and anti-Russian sanctions were among the central topics discussed between the head of the Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachyov, and the United States Ambassador to Russia, John Tefft.

"We touched upon this issue as well. I reiterated that this scenario would be most destructive and pernicious for the conflict. I acknowledged with relief that this position of the most radical U.S. senators has not become an official U.S. position yet," Kosachyov told reports after the meeting.

"More importantly, this position is in no way shared or supported by U.S. allies in NATO, the Europeans, who effectively opposed, virtually unanimously, at the official statements level, the delivery of defensive weapons to Ukraine," the Russian senator said.

"It seems to me that this pressure exerted by the U.S. on Europeans produces no result. And that is especially important when all of us are concerned about the fate of the Minsk agreements," Kosachyov said.