ROME, February 6. /TASS/. Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said in an interview with Italy’s Repubblica newspaper that he sees no immediate threats from Russia.
"It [an alleged aggression] may happen sooner or later, but there are no immediate risks. First, they spoke about January (when the alleged intrusion may begin - TASS), now they speak about February, some say it will be in the spring," he said, commenting on Western intelligence services’ forecasts. "We won’t be fighting, but when we are attacked, we will get prepared for that," he added.
According to Reznikov, Kiev is not hatching any plans of attacking Crimea, Lugansk, or Donetsk. "We won’t stage any offensive: Ukrainians are living in Crimea, Lugansk, and Donetsk and it would put them at danger," he said.
He answered in the affirmative to the question about a possible meeting between the presidents, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine. "I think yes. Such meeting is possible. Mediation is needed, but, the most importantly, ceasefire guarantees are needed," the minister said, adding that the Normandy format "is a good platform, but it needs to be modified." He also said that either Geneva or Berlin or Warsaw could be a venue for a meeting between the two presidents. "Istanbul may also be a venue." Reznik said, commenting on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal to be a go-between in the organization of a Putin-Zelensky meeting.
Recently, Western and Ukrainian media outlets have been echoing claims about a possible Russian aggression against Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier slammed such statements as "empty and groundless" and their goal is to whip up tensions. He stressed that Russia doesn’t pose any threat to anyone, but did not rule out possible provocations to justify the remarks in question and warned that attempts at using force to settle the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have the most severe consequences.