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Russia has no intention of fighting Ukraine, only Kiev can incite war, senior MP says

Earlier, Vladimir Zelensky said that he did not rule out a full-fledged war with Russia

Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov Marat Abulkhatin/Russian State Duma Photo Service/TASS

Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov

© Marat Abulkhatin/Russian State Duma Photo Service/TASS

MOSCOW, September 10. /TASS/. No one in Russia wants a war with Ukraine, and that would only be able to happen if Kiev sparked a provocation for it, Chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee for CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots Leonid Kalashnikov told TASS on Friday.

"A full-fledged war can only be unleashed if they (the Ukrainian authorities — TASS) pull off some kind of provocation, like [Mikhail] Saakashvili did in Georgia at one time," he said, commenting on remarks by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

According to Kalashnikov, no one in Russia is going to "do that, [no one] is going to fight the Ukrainians." "This is our fraternal people, no one wants a war against the people because of the authorities. Not a single Russian wants to fight the Ukrainians," he concluded.

Zelensky earlier said at the YES Brainstorming forum, replying to a question from the moderator, that he did not rule out a full-fledged war with Russia. He noted though that it would be a mistake, "the biggest mistake by the Russian Federation."

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