U.S. Cements Position As Largest Arms Exporter, With Russia A Lagging Second

The United States has supplied more than one-third of global arms over the past five years, cementing its position as the world's top weapons seller, according to a Swedish based research institute.

In a report published on March 9, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said that global volumes of arms transfers increased by nearly 6 percent in the 2015-19 period, compared with 2010-14.

Exports of weapons from the United States grew by 23 percent during the latest period, raising its share of total exports to 36 percent.

Russia was the world's second-largest exporter with 21 percent of global arms deliveries, but Russian exports were 18 percent lower than in 2010-14.

"Russia has lost traction in India -- the main long-term recipient of Russian major arms -- which has led to a sharp reduction in arms exports," said SIPRI researcher Alexandra Kuimova.

“This decrease was not offset by the increase in Russian arms exports to Egypt and Iraq in 2015-19,” she added.

France was the third-largest exporter, followed by Germany and China.

Saudi Arabia remained the world's top arms importer in 2015-19, with 12 percent of the global total.

With reporting by dpa