MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. Washington is still to play with fire regarding Ukraine while Russia urges the West to display the utmost caution and restraint, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told the Rossiya-1 TV channel on Wednesday.

"Nevertheless, the US continues to play with fire, this is dangerous. Now is the right time for the West to display the utmost caution, and refrain from any exacerbation, and from flooding the Kiev regime with weapons, particularly with destabilizing ones, and especially with those HIMARS rocket artillery systems," he said.

Responding to a question about the risks of a direct confrontation between Russia and the collective West, the senior diplomat noted that Western countries "attempt to accuse Russia of playing some ‘rhetorical game’ on the subject of the hypothetic use of nuclear weapons." "This is completely false. These are again inept arguments that have nothing to do with reality. Yet, we have gotten used to the fact that the West has nothing left besides churning out fake news items, or attempting to distort the complex reality in favor of its own geopolitical ideas and preferences. This is the norm of life. This is particularly noticeable in the media," he continued.

"Of course, we have been repeatedly warning US-led pro-Western elements that their hypothetical attempts of direct interference would have far-reaching and grave repercussions. Our political leadership, the president, our military leaders, and the foreign minister repeatedly touched on this subject. I think that the warnings have been heard after all. I hope that they are a factor that is being taken into account," the deputy foreign minister pointed out.