SAN FRANCISCO, November 5. /TASS/. The West continues pursuing a wrong policy believing that the Ukrainian situation can be resolved on the battlefield while in fact it must be considered how to find a negotiating solution, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov said on Saturday.
"Regarding new decisions of the American administration on additional supplies of weapons to Ukraine I would like to point out that our so-called partners continue with a wrong policy believing that the problem can be solved on the battlefield and keep spending more energy and means. Now they are amassing armed forces near the Russian borders," Antonov told journalists commenting on a new package of the US military aid for Kiev.
"The developing situation is extremely alarming," he said. "In fact, in Ukraine, on the Ukrainian soil, we are fighting not against the Ukrainians, but against the collective West, which tries to undermine the foundations of Russia, to exhaust us, to deplete us of all economic and military resources and to stage a situation, in which Russia would never have a chance to negotiate equally with the Western countries on the international arena," the diplomat stressed.
However, according to Antonov, Russia will manage to win no matter what Washington is trying to do.
"We have no other way out and no doubts that we pursue the right cause and we will win," he noted.
Antonov said that the present-day situation cannot be solved on a battlefield and the West should start looking to settle it by means of negotiations.
"We must think today not about pumping up Kiev with additional weapons, but about how to find a negotiating solution. It is impossible to completely solve the problem on the battlefield," he said.
Deputy Pentagon Spokesperson Sabrina Singh announced on Friday that under the new package of assistance, Ukraine would receive 90 refurbished T-72 tanks, 1,100 Phoenix Ghost kamikaze drones, HAWK air defense systems and other means.
Developments in Ukraine
The situation along the line of engagement in Donbass escalated on February 17. The Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) reported the most massive bombardments by the Ukrainian military back then, which damaged civilian infrastructure and caused civilian casualties.
On February 21, President Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow was recognizing the sovereignty of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics. Russia signed agreements on friendship, cooperation and mutual assistance with their leaders. Moscow recognized the Donbass republics in accordance with the DPR and LPR constitutions within the boundaries of the Donetsk and Lugansk Regions as of the beginning of 2014.
Russian President Putin announced on February 24 that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics for assistance he had decided to carry out a special military operation in Ukraine. The DPR and the LPR launched an operation to liberate their territories under Kiev’s control.
From September 23 to September 27, the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Lugansk People’s Republic as well as the Kherson Region and the Zaporozhye Region held a referendum where the majority of voters opted to join Russia.
On September 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin and the heads of the DPR, the LPR, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson Regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia. Later, the State Duma and the Federation Council (the lower and upper houses of Russia’s parliament) approved legislation on ratifying these treaties, as well as federal constitutional laws on the accession of the four regions to Russia.