VIENNA, December 15. /TASS/. Moscow’s statement that it will not stand for Kiev using NATO airfields for its fighter jets took the West by surprise, Konstantin Gavrilov, head of Russia’s delegation to the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, told TASS.

"Let me be clear, my statement was met with silence. Everyone knows that when Moscow makes a statement to convey some message, it should be taken very seriously. We were told that right after the meeting, Western officials - particularly the Poles, the Romanians and the Slovaks - rushed to report to their respective capitals. It took them by surprise and they had nothing to say in response," Gavrilov noted.

The diplomat emphasized the need to differentiate between aircraft handover to Kiev and the use of NATO air bases for the flights of Ukrainian warplanes, which "is fraught with severe consequences." "I would like to point out that we will give a tough response to such an escalation of tensions. As for what the response will be, it is up to the country’s authorities to decide," Gavrilov added.

Gavrilov stated earlier at a plenary session of the OSCE Forum for Security Cooperation that Russia would take retaliatory measures if Kiev started using air bases in NATO countries to deploy the Western fighter jets that had been provided to Ukraine. According to the diplomat, Moscow will view warplanes taking off from NATO member states as proof of those countries’ involvement in the conflict.