MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russia will do everything possible to guarantee its security and the safety of its citizens, should the crisis in Ukraine drastically deteriorate. However, Kiev and its Western patrons will bear full responsibility for any escalation, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters Tuesday.
"If any escalation occurs, we will of course do everything possible to ensure our own security and the security of our citizens wherever they are," he assured. "However, Kiev and its patrons in the West will bear full responsibility for consequences of such an escalation," he warned.
The deputy minister pointed out that the US and NATO are ramping up volumes of military assistance to Ukraine. "They continue to provide supplies, increasing the amount of assistance. The United States and other NATO countries are deliberately turning Ukraine into a powder keg. Trainings have been going on for many years in Ukraine with the participation of advisors, instructors who work at various testing ranges in dozens and hundreds, while facilities are being created that have direct negative impact on our security, education and training activities are ramped up, a network of biolaboratories was established and operations there are concerning for us to say the least," he underlined.
According to the senior diplomat, the combination of these factors poses a serious challenge to security of Russia. "We would like to reiterate that NATO countries, who use demagogic rhetoric to speculate about protecting Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, should think about containing the warmongering spirit of their clients in Kiev and ensuring the implementation of the Minsk Package of Measures that our Kiev neighbors are blatantly ignoring," Ryabkov added. However, he pointed out, the US continues to fan militarist sentiments in Kiev and engage in provocations in direct proximity to Russian borders instead.
Western countries have lately been repeatedly voicing concerns over remarks made by top Ukrainian military brass regarding Russia’s building up its forces along the border with Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted earlier that movement of Russian troops inside their own country should not raise concerns in other states. Peskov underlined that these movements do not threaten any states in any way. He also said that the Donbass conflict is exclusively a domestic Ukrainian affair, adding that Russian troops never took part in it.
The Donbass situation exacerbated in late February, exchanges of fire are registered almost daily particularly with the use of mortars and grenade launchers. The parties to the conflict accuse each other of aggravating the situation.