Britain’s defence chief suggests importers to return Russian weapons

British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace suggested that countries importing Russian weapons "return them to the seller" because they did not meet quality standards.

He made the remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore on June 2, Gazeta.ru reports.

"If there are those among those present who have spent a lot of money on Russian arms, I would return them back to the seller if I were you. Given what I saw in Ukraine, I would urge you not to spend your money on Russian arms," Wallace said.

He added that NATO weapons are among the best in the world.

He also noted that Britain supports adding Ukraine to NATO and "that path is open" to them, although political realities may slow the process.

Wallace stressed that it is not possible to add members in the middle of a war and that the way forward was to continue aiding and arming Ukraine for both short- and long-term security.

"The best thing we can do to help Ukraine is now to help them defeat Russia," Wallace said in an interview. "After that is to make sure they're ready and capable and resilient."