57-year-old Viktor But was arrested in the USA in 2008 after selling Soviet-made weapons to Africa, the Middle East, and South America for tens of years. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 2011 for planning to sell weapons to the Farc guerrilla, but was later released in a prisoner exchange for the American basketball star Brittney Griner, who was accused of drug offenses in Russia.
When the Houthi movement recently sent two representatives to Moscow to negotiate the purchase of automatic weapons worth approximately 100 million kronor, But was present, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
The sources do not know whether the negotiations took place on the Kremlin's orders or with its tacit approval, the newspaper writes.
Supplying a party in the Middle East conflict with weapons would imply an escalation for Russia, which has so far largely stayed out of the war between Israel and its Iran-backed opponents.
Neither the Houthi movement nor the Kremlin has commented on the reports.
The first deliveries are expected to mainly consist of AK-74 type automatic carbines, but discussions are also said to have been held about other, more powerful weapons. The deliveries may begin as early as October, according to the sources.
After the prisoner exchange, But has often commented on Russian politics and criticized the USA in Russian TV. He has also occasionally appeared in Russian media as an expert on arms trade.
