We do not want an escalation. We want to avoid the United States becoming part of the conflict, but so far we have not noticed that the American side was willing to take warnings in this sense deeply and seriously.
Ryabkov said.
Not only did we warn, but we also sent official signals to Washington on a number of occasions, through various channels, and at a high level, including in the form of targeted lists and conversations. There is a type called diplomatic demarcation. In one of these, we drew the attention of the United States to the fact that its increasingly visible and deep involvement in the events in Ukraine against our own operation essentially makes it a part of it.
he added.
According to the Russian diplomat, this position is disputed by the US side, “but the facts speak for themselves.” He stated: The Ukrainian side itself publicly admitted that it was discussing the targets that it intends to strike with American weapons.
Ryabkov expressed his view that the West should not arm Ukraine at all, and cast doubt on the argument that this supported “Kyiv’s right to self-defense”. The deputy minister considered that the United States and other NATO countries contribute to the escalation of the conflict by almost encouraging Ukraine to attack targets in Crimea – that is, on “Russian territory”.
According to Ryabkov, the Ukrainian leadership “has lost its sense of reality” and will be ready to create a “second Chernobyl” at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant to achieve its geopolitical goals. He explained that the presence of the Russian army guarding the facility ensures that this does not happen.
On Thursday, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konasenkov claimed that Ukraine is preparing for a large-scale provocation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant on August 19, in time for the visit of the UN Secretary-General, for which he will try to transfer responsibility to Moscow.
According to Ryabkov, the idea supported by the West to create a demilitarized zone around the power plant will only increase the risks. As he said, Moscow expects the visit of the IAEA delegation, which was agreed upon at the beginning of this June. According to Russian diplomatic sources, specialists of the International Atomic Energy Agency may visit the facility in Zaporozhye in early September.
At the annual meeting with representatives of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent on Friday, Nikolai Patrusev, Secretary of the Russian Security Council, said that events in Ukraine show that the West is maneuvering on the frontiers of open hybrid and armed actions. A conflict with Russia, but in the meantime it is preparing for the latter must fight. According to him, this intention was recorded in the documents adopted at the NATO summit in Madrid, and the United States is trying to act similarly towards China.
Cover image source: Getty Images
