All news

Escalation of tensions in Ukraine possible only if govt decides to fuel them

MOSCOW, April 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Escalation of tensions in Ukraine is possible only in case where the Kiev government, which enjoys massive support from the U.S. and the EU, decides to fuel them, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday.

It also warned that the prospects for holding whatever multilateral meetings and, on the whole, the prospects for cooperation on the Ukrainian crisis would be ruined if the powers that be decided to suppress regional protests through the use of force.

“Officials in Kiev, Washington and European capitals should realize this full well,” it said.

“The fact that Kiev can count on Western encouragement (of its proclivity for aggressive options) is also practically assured,” the ministry said.

“Otherwise it would be difficult to interpret the Kiev government’s threats to begin an assault on the buildings in Donetsk and Lugansk occupied by protesters and the declarations by Mr. Shlapak, Ukraine’s Finance Minister in the sense that the authorities do not plan to use the aid package steered by the international institutions to pay off the debts (for the previously consumed natural gas) to Gazprom,” it said.