Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Moscow, Feb 13 : NATO countries seem to have fabricated the “myth” about the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine after Moscow demanded security guarantees, Alexey Polishchuk, the head of the Russian foreign ministry’s second Commonwealth of Independent States department, told Sputnik on Saturday.
“In general, one gets the impression that after Russia demanded security guarantees from the West, the NATO countries deliberately fabricated and are inflating the myth about the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Polishchuk said.
Polishchuk said that to de-escalate tensions around Ukraine, NATO countries should stop supplying Kiev with weapons, withdraw military advisers and abandon drills on the country’s territory.
“In order to de-escalate tensions, it is necessary, first of all, to force Kiev to comply with a package of measures. It is necessary that NATO countries stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, recall back their military advisers and instructors, abandon any joint exercises in Ukraine and withdraw all previously delivered weapons from its territory,” the diplomat said.
Weapon supplies to Kiev also derail attempts to peacefully resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Polishchuk noted. “The militarization of Ukraine has a negative impact on the settlement of the conflict in Donbas.
The Ukrainian leadership feels like the West is giving it carte blanche, a free pass to use force,” he said.
Russia drafted agreements on mutual security guarantees in Europe and offered them to the United States and NATO in December. Among other things, the draft agreements entail NATO’s non-accession of Ukraine. NATO and the US sent back their response to Moscow in private in late January.
