MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday said the West will take credit for de-escalation when Russian-Belarusian military exercises are over and Russian troops return home.
"Some time from now Western countries will find out that the Russian-Belarusian drills are over and Russian troops returned to Russian soil," he said at a news conference following talks with UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss. "Then they will kick up a media campaign to say that the West convinced Russia to de-escalate."
Russia has already stated, he said, that Russian troops will return to Russia upon completion of the drills in Belarus. Lavrov said he hoped the West will be serious about taking on the issues of European security, which affect everyone regardless of their membership in NATO.
"I really hope that on serious issues related to European security, the security of all countries without exception, be they NATO members, Ukraine or Russia, we will behave a little more like adults and not engage in outright propaganda with an eye to the next electoral adventures," the minister said.
There has been a flurry of statements in the West and Kiev lately that Russia could invade Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said they were unsubstantiated escalation and that Russia doesn’t threaten anyone. At the same time, he didn’t rule out provocations to corroborate these Western statements and warned that the use of force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine will have serious consequences.