‘NATO PEACEKEEPERS IN UKRAINE WOULD PROMPT CLASH WITH RUSSIA’: RUSSIAN FM

Wed 23 March 2022:

Moscow warned on Wednesday that deploying NATO peacekeepers in Ukraine will result in a direct conflict between Russia and the North Atlantic Alliance.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated during a meeting with students at Moscow’s MGIMO University that Russia has taken note of Poland’s decision to discuss the question of sending military contingents to Ukraine at the upcoming NATO summit.

“I hope they (Poland) understand what they are talking about. This will be the very direct clash of the Russian and NATO armed forces, which everyone not only would like to avoid, but say that it should not take place in principle,” said Lavrov.

Lavrov added that if Poland and the Baltic countries — Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania — send troops to Ukraine separate from NATO, these countries would face the consequences of directly entering the conflict.

He also claimed that Poland, after entering Ukraine under such a peacekeeping mission, might seek to separate western Ukraine from the rest of the country and remain there permanently.

“Polish representatives are known for their non-standard moves,” added the official, accusing Warsaw of seeking to provoke “big trouble.”

“I do not exclude that when they talk about peacekeepers, they probably mean (deploying troops) on their borders — the west of Ukraine. Maybe they want to introduce peacekeepers, make headquarters in Lviv, then stay there. They had such thoughts — and not only thoughts. It was in the past,” Lavrov said.

Criticizing calls to give Ukraine MiG fighter jets and man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), Lavrov said such arms could fall into wrong hands and spread through Europe, posing a threat for all countries.

The minister said peace talks between Russian and Ukraine continued with difficulty, accusing the Ukrainian side of constantly changing its positions.

He suggested that Kyiv was biding time at the US’ instruction, claiming that Washington wanted to draw out the conflict for Russia.

“It is difficult to get rid of the impression that Kyiv is held by the American colleagues. Both our and Western political scientists say Americans simply assume that it is not profitable for them to complete this process quickly. Apparently, they want to keep us in a state of combat for as long as possible,” he said.

Earlier on In an interview, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Russia would only unleash nuclear weapons if its very existence was threatened.

Peskov made the remark when CNN’s Christiane Amanpour pressed him on whether he was “convinced or confident” that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not unleash the nuclear option in the Ukraine conflict.

“We have a concept of domestic security, and it’s public. You can read all the reasons for nuclear arms to be used,” Peskov said on Tuesday.

“So if it is an existential threat for our country, then it can be used in accordance with our concept.”

This is not the first time that Moscow has signalled its readiness to use nuclear weapons. Back in February, Putin had also said that Russia will respond to anyone who stands in its way.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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