MOSCOW, January 20. /TASS/. Russia is taking every measure in order to prevent provocations by Ukrainian forces at the border, says Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation to the Vienna talks on security and arms control.
"Provocations by Ukrainian Armed Forces at the border are possible. We try to prevent them; we do everything we can to prevent such situations. Russia has said this at every level," he said.
According to Gavrilov, the Ukrainian leadership uses the speculations about the alleged Russian invasion of Ukraine as an instrument of influence on Moscow’s position.
"We stated it at every level that we are not attacking Ukraine. We don’t need that. This is propaganda, [disseminated in order] to get a good negotiating position before the real negotiations begin. I think that this is a bluff. They accuse Russia of everything that happens. But we reply officially: no, we do not do that," he concluded.
Recently, claims of Russia’s potential invasion in Ukraine have become frequent in Ukraine and Western states. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called such reports empty and groundless escalation of tensions, underscoring that Russia does not pose any threat to anyone. Peskov noted that provocations may happen in order to justify such claims and warned that such attempts will bear the most serious consequences.