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The statement came at a time when Moscow and Kiev had accused each other of escalating violence in a year-long conflict between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists.
Kiev says separatists are “systematically violating the ceasefire signed in July” and accusing Russia of allegedly installing Russian troops near a common border. The Kremlin denies the accusations.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on April 1. He wrote on Twitter that he had spoken with Helga Schmid, secretary general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), “about Russia’s systematic intervention in the deterioration of the situation in eastern Ukraine and Crimea.”
It also welcomed the extension of the OSCE Special Oversight Mission in Ukraine for one more year this week. He said the organization “should closely follow in Russia’s footsteps.”
In a later broadcast interview, Lavrov quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that “those who try to start a new war in Donbass will destroy Ukraine.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was “moving its troops into its territory for its own reasons, and that shouldn’t bother anyone.”
“We must remain vigilant as NATO forces intensify near Russia’s borders,” he said.
On Thursday, the United States warned Russia not to intimidate Ukraine, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed their support in a telephone conversation with Ukrainian colleagues.
Russia, which in 2014 forcibly annexed Crimea and long denied the presence of its troops in the country, denied participation in the fighting in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions of eastern Ukraine, although there was significant evidence
The OSCE Mission in Ukraine has reported in recent days hundreds of violations of the ceasefire during the conflict in Donetsk and Lugansk, which has raged since 2014. It demanded more than 13 thousand. lives.
Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014, sent troops and held a referendum that is considered illegal in at least 100 countries around the world.
Addressing the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna on March 31, United States Commissioner Courtney Austrian welcomed the expansion of the OSCE mission and reaffirmed Washington’s unwavering commitment to “sovereignty and territorial integrity. “of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, also later said that “the destabilizing actions of Russia are undermining the de-escalation intentions reached in July last year with the conclusion of the OSCE mediation agreement on the ceasefire. “.
“We are discussing concerns about this escalation of tensions and ceasefire and the escalation of regional tensions with NATO allies,” Kirby said.
Ukrainian Army on March 26. reported that four Ukrainian soldiers were killed and two more wounded in the shooting in Donetsk, which means that the total number of Ukrainian soldiers killed since December is 19 people.
March 30 General Ruslan Khomchak, Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, accused Moscow of strengthening its military forces near the Ukrainian-Russian border “under the pretext of preparing for a strategic exercise.”
The rising tension is just one addition to the thousands of troops in the combat brigades, regiments and supply units deployed in Donetsk and Lugansk in support of the regular Russian forces, he told the “American Voice”.
“We are preparing for all possible provocations and reactions to the actions of the enemy,” Khomchak said.
For the first time, Khomchak made accusations about strengthening the Russian army while speaking in the Ukrainian parliament on March 30.
These comments received a response from V. Putino on March 30. videoconference with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Putin blamed Ukraine for the tensions and called on Kiev to engage in direct dialogue with local separatist forces.
A statement from the French presidency said that during a video conference, Macron and Merkel called on Putin to take steps to reduce the escalation.
“The need for Russia to firmly commit to stabilizing the ceasefire in Ukraine and finding a way out of the crisis, in line with the Minsk agreements, has been emphasized,” the House of the Elysee said.
Germany, Russia, France and Ukraine are part of the so-called Normandy Quartet, created in an attempt to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.
Prepared according to RFE / RL inf.
