BISHKEK, April 9. /TASS/. The deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine by Kiev’s allies would mark "a leap towards World War III," Kyrgyzstan’s Defense Minister Lieutenant General Batkybek Bekbolotov said.
While attending an event titled "Memorial Day: We are invincible as long as we are united," hosted by the Jusup Balasagyn Kyrgyz National University, Bekbolotov mentioned a meeting with a Ukrainian military attache who asked his opinion on the potential deployment of peacekeeper forces to Ukraine. According to the Kyrgyz defense chief, the attache noted that Kiev’s allies could send such forces to the country.
"Will they be deployed as peacekeeper forces? I told him what I thought about it as a Kyrgyz national: if the allies you mentioned send forces there, it would be not a step towards World War III but a leap towards World War III because Russia would have to engage its allies. It would mark the beginning of confrontation, further worsening the situation along Russia’s western border and in eastern Europe," Bekbolotov pointed out.
The event, held in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek as part of the "Lessons of Remembrance ," was organized by the Oy Ordo (or Center of Thought) center of expert initiatives in partnership with the Kyrgyz Security Council. The project aims at informing the youth about the key developments of the Great Patriotic War.