Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov today ruled out the possibility of a war with Ukraine after Kiev expressed concern about reinforcing Russian troops at its borders.
“Nobody is embarking on the path of war,” said Peskov, in an interview with public broadcaster Rossya 1, which will be broadcast today, but of which passages are already known.
“Nobody accepts the possibility of a civil war in Ukraine,” added the Kremlin spokesman, explaining that “Russia will not be indifferent to the fate of Russian speakers living in the southeast” of Ukraine, where since 2014 armed clashes have occurred between Ukrainian government forces and pro-separatist militias backed by Moscow.
The Kremlin does not deny military movements on the border with Ukraine, but guarantees that it is not making any threats, accusing Kiev of “provocation” designed to “aggravate the situation”.
“Russia is making every effort to help resolve this conflict,” said Peskov, during the interview.
The United States has not hidden its concern about strengthening Russian military positions on the border with Ukraine and in recent days have announced the dispatch of two military ships to the Black Sea.
Today, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, warned “there will be consequences” in the event of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“There are more Russian troops concentrated on the (Ukraine) border than at any time since 2014, when the Russian invasion”, said the US Secretary of State, in a television interview broadcast today.
Blinken said that the United States’ position was made very clear by the President, Joe Biden, with no scope for various interpretations.
“The President was very clear: if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be costs, consequences,” said Blinken, without clarifying the content of the consequences.
Antony Blinken, who this week discussed the situation in Ukraine with his French and German counterparts, stressed that the United States and its European allies “share the same concern”.
Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of direct responsibility for increasing the intensity of the conflict, and this week the Kremlin has already admitted that it has strengthened the military contingent along the border between the two countries, causing reactions of concern on the part of the European Union and from United States.
The armed confrontation between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine, which began in 2014, has already claimed the lives of some 14,000 people in seven years, according to the UN.
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