Russia has no intention to attack Ukraine: deputy FM

18-02-2022
Rudaw
A+ A-
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Russia has no intention to carry out any “hostile actions” against Ukraine, Russian deputy foreign minister told Rudaw on Friday. 

“Nobody seeks any excuses for hostile actions. We said we do not have any intention to do this,” Sergey Ryabkov told Rudaw’s Majeed Gly during a press conference. 

Russia has deployed a large number of troops to Ukraine’s borders recently amid tensions with the country. Some world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, have claimed that Moscow is preparing to invade Ukraine in the coming days.

The Moscow-Kiev tensions are widely seen to be between Russia and the West. European countries and the US have expressed their support for Ukraine, with some equipping its army with ammunition. 

“The countries that are our partners do supply necessary defensive weapons and ammunition,” Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, said during a press conference at the UN on Friday. 

Rudaw’s Gly asked Kyslytsya if the weapons supplied by the West are sufficient, he replied, “It is very difficult to say but it is also clear that the army of Ukraine of 2022 is nothing compared to the army of Ukraine that was almost nonexistent in 2014.”

James Cleverly, Minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, told Rudaw at a presser that his country and a number of countries in Europe and North America “speak regularly about what coordinated action might take place.”

“We want to make it very clear that the Ukrainians have made it clear that they will defend themselves as they absolutely have the right to do so,” he noted.  

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told RT on Friday that the West’s claim that his country will “invade” Ukraine is “propaganda, fake news [and] fiction.” 

“If they enjoy it, let them take their time getting the pleasure,” he added. 
 

Comments

Rudaw moderates all comments submitted on our website. We welcome comments which are relevant to the article and encourage further discussion about the issues that matter to you. We also welcome constructive criticism about Rudaw.

To be approved for publication, however, your comments must meet our community guidelines.

We will not tolerate the following: profanity, threats, personal attacks, vulgarity, abuse (such as sexism, racism, homophobia or xenophobia), or commercial or personal promotion.

Comments that do not meet our guidelines will be rejected. Comments are not edited – they are either approved or rejected.

Post a comment

Required
Required
 

The Latest

A woman holds posters during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris on August 6, 2024. Photo: AFP/Andrew Harnik

Abortion rights echo through US battleground states on Election Day

As Americans cast their final votes on Tuesday in a highly-contested presidential election, the deeply divisive issue of abortion and women’s rights continues to resonate strongly with voters in key battleground states.