Russia will not tolerate Kiev and Western countries staging provocations in Donbass, says diplomat.
"I don't rule out that they might be staging a provocation; they're creating a media cover for it," said Konstantin Gavrilov.
Sputnik - Russia will not tolerate an attack by Kiev and the West on the Donbass region, said Konstantin Gavrilov, head of the Russian delegation at talks on military security and arms control issues in Vienna, Austria, on Sunday (23).
"Everything has been said and warned: we will not tolerate attacks on our citizens. It was said clearly, it was expressed clearly in all the media," he commented.
"This campaign, which was initiated in the West, accusing Russia of all sins, claiming we are about to invade, and they don't stop despite the statements from the president, the minister, the deputy minister, and other Russian representatives, that we don't intend [to do that], that we don't need a war, but we need a diplomatic solution. I don't rule out that they might be staging a provocation; they are creating an informational cover for it," Gavrilov stated.
Gavrilov stated that Russia is one of the guarantors of the Minsk peace agreements, originally signed in 2014, and "will not allow its citizens to be harmed, much less killed" in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine.
In December 2021, Moscow published draft agreements urging NATO not to expand eastward near Russia's borders, deeming this a threat to the country's security. To avoid tensions, the Kremlin proposed not deploying weapons, missiles, troops, or conducting exercises near the borders of both sides.
The Russian proposals were analyzed on January 10 as part of the strategic dialogue in Geneva, Switzerland. This was followed by a NATO-Russia Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, and consultations of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna, Austria.
Subscribe to 247, Support via Pix, Subscribe to TV 247, in the channel Cuts 247 and watch: