Moscow has no plans to invade Ukraine, says Russian Ambassador to Cyprus Stanislav Oshachi, noting that Russian troops are within Russian territory and "do not threaten anyone".
In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Mr. Oshachi calls Western media "hysteria" over Ukraine and says Western countries hope to avoid answering questions Moscow raises about "vital issues" surrounding European security.
He speaks of NATO seeking to approach the Russian border at an "unacceptable distance for us in terms of Russian security" and warns that this will lead to additional response measures, further deteriorating security conditions in Europe.
We fully understand that if Brussels adopts new sanctions, Cyprus will be obliged to vote for them, he says, noting that this will undoubtedly "not add any heat" to Cyprus-Russia relations.
In his interview with CNA, Ambassador Oshachi refers to the rhetoric that has been developing over the past month and a half in Western media, which he says the Russian Foreign Minister has accurately described with the word "hysteria". On the part of America, NATO and the European Union there were even specific dates for the start of Russia's "military invasion", he continues, adding that "Russian troops are on their own territory and are not threatening anyone".
During all this time, the country's top leadership has been making daily statements assuring that Russia has no plans to invade Ukraine, the ambassador continued, adding that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has stated directly that "we do not want war."
He goes on to speak of a situation that borders on "insanity" and notes that Ukrainian President Zelensky "seems to have been frightened by so much tension that he has had to call on everyone to calm down, trying to convince even US President Joe Biden that the Ukrainian side has no information on the preparation of an invasion".
Oshachi echoes the recent quote of the Russian Foreign Minister, who said that "if it depends on the Russian Federation, there will be no war."
Referring to the efforts for a permanent ceasefire, Ambassador Oshachi says they have all failed on the responsibility of the Ukrainian side, which, he says, has been documented by the OSCE special mission to the region.
Russia has several times drawn the attention of its partners, asking Germany and France - the European countries that played an important role in the Minsk agreements to end the conflict - to exert their influence on Kiev to end the attacks on Donbass, but, he notes, our Western partners "rather demonstrate their solidarity with the Kiev regime."
On the border with the self-declared territories, the Ukrainian authorities have gathered half of the country's army, about 125 thousand with tanks, artillery and other heavy equipment, the ambassador says, adding that talking about a permanent ceasefire, "in my view, unfortunately, is not possible."
Moscow expects the Europeans and Americans to stop fomenting tension and finally force Kiev to implement the Minsk Agreements, says Mr. Oshachi. He notes that Kiev should "start a direct dialogue with representatives of the self-proclaimed republics on the issue of achieving peace."
Regarding the United States' initiative to discuss the situation in Ukraine at the UN Security Council, the Ambassador says that never before have "untenable fears of any countries, which have been invented by those same countries, been presented before the body with completely empty accusations."
In his interview with the CPS, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation also refers to a "negative role" of NATO. The North Atlantic Alliance's involvement in the Donbass conflict only serves to convince Russia of the alliance's pursuit of approaching our borders at an unacceptable distance for us in terms of Russian security, he says. This, according to Mr. Oshachi, will lead to additional response measures.
He says Western countries are selectively emphasizing the right of states to choose to join alliances in defense of their security, ignoring, he notes, the position that such security cannot be built at the expense of the security of third countries. "This is unacceptable," Osazi continues, adding that every state has a right to security, not just NATO members.
Regarding relations with the Republic of Cyprus in the light of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, the Ambassador says that Cyprus is a full member of the EU and Moscow fully understands that in case Brussels adopts new sanctions, Nicosia will probably be obliged to vote in solidarity with the rest of its European partners.
And this, he continues, will no doubt "not add any heat" to relations between our two countries, regretting "the fact that our bilateral relations may once again become captive to foreign geopolitical interests."
Source: CNA
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