US lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favour of ending the Pentagon's arms contract with a major Russian defence firm, with one congressman saying it was wrong to partner with "lords of war" who are supplying arms to Syria. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 407-5, and was attached to the 2013 defence spending bill that passed the US House of Representatives and now moves to the Democrat-led Senate.
House Democrat Jim Moran, who introduced the measure, lambasted the Pentagon for its contract with Russia's state-owned Rosoboronexport, which he said sells mortars, sniper rifles and attack helicopters to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime, including a shipment he said was now bound for Damascus. The Pentagon last week announced a $171 million single-bid contract with Rosoboronexport to purchase 10 Mi-17 attack helicopters to be used by the Afghan military after US operations wind down in Afghanistan, bringing the total number of the procured airships to 33.