MOSCOW, August 16. /TASS/. A potential transfer by Turkey of US-made weapons to Ukraine will come as no surprise as Ankara has long maintained close military and technical ties with Kiev, Ivan Timofeyev, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council, said in an interview with TASS.

"On the one hand, Turkey is a NATO member and a US ally, and on the other hand, it is a long-time partner of Russia. The Turks are managing what is called multi-vector diplomacy here," the expert explained. "Turkey has maintained quite a close and long-time relationship with Ukraine, including, apparently, in the military-technical sphere," he continued.

"Ukraine is a sales market for Turkey, and, among other things, the Turks have been capitalizing on this. Therefore, that Turkey has turned up here is relatively unconventional, but it does not come as a great surprise," Timofeyev argued.

Earlier, the US Department of State notified Congress that Ankara could re-export obsolete US weaponry worth $255.9 million to Kiev, including multiple rocket launchers and munitions, 203mm shells and ATACMS missiles, adding that the US government was prepared to authorize the package.

Any additional US weapons supplies to Kiev via Turkey will only prolong the agony of the Banderite regime, lead to more deaths, and inevitably sour Moscow’s relations with Washington and Ankara, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned.