MOSCOW, September 22. /ITAR-TASS/. NATO military exercises in Ukraine prompt the conflicting parties to escalate the situation, CSTO Secretary-General Nikolay Bordyuzha said on Monday.

“I consider NATO exercises in Ukraine an event that triggers escalation,” Bordyuzha said. “Military exercises on the territory of the conutry, which is in a state of civil war and where fire has not been completely ceased, lead to the escalation of the conflict,” he said. “This reminds me of the situation when two people fight and a third person gives a knife in the hand of one of them. That’s about the exercises that NATO is conducting on the territory of Ukraine,” Bordyuzha said.

It is early and complicated to talk about the implementation of the peace plan signed in Minsk, he added, pointing to positive tendencies in this aspect. “The most important thing is that there is no mass shooting. No settlements come under fire. I hope that the Minsk protocol and the upcoming agreements rule out using force against peaceful civilians and militias,” Bordyuzha said.