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Monday 30 January 2023 - 07:40

US ‘Main Beneficiary’ of Ukraine Crisis: Russia’s Deputy FM

Story Code : 1038541
US ‘Main Beneficiary’ of Ukraine Crisis: Russia’s Deputy FM
The Russian diplomat added that, by pulling military equipment out of Europe, sending it "for disposal" to Ukraine, Washington expects to impose on Europeans new, multibillion-dollar contracts for the purchase of US military products.

This "cynical game" "will end badly" for those involved, Ryabkov warned.

After Washington announced its decision to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine, Moscow does not see any way to hold talks with Kiev, the deputy FM underlined.

"We are ready to study any serious initiatives to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but so far no one has really articulated them… In the current conditions, when Washington has announced its decision to supply tanks, and its vassals, including Ottawa, are competing to see who and how much weaponry will supply to Ukraine, especially outdated one, it is pointless to talk not only with the Ukronazis, but also with their puppeteers," Ryabkov said.

In the same context, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that arms supplies to Ukraine by Western countries testify to their direct and growing involvement in the conflict.

On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden announced that his country would send 31 M1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine. However, US officials said that the delivery of the tanks to Ukraine's battlefields and training would take many months, certainly not in time for Ukraine's alleged counteroffensive expected this spring.

Ryabkov told Sputnik that the decision to send Abrams battle tanks to Kiev was "an extremely destructive step" that has raised more concerns in the global community regarding US and NATO actions.

In April 2022, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Kiev.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.

Russia does not need anything from the West, but NATO is spreading "Russophobic horror stories" in the neighboring countries, Ryabkov also said.

"We don't need anything from the West. We want to be left alone. But NATO, for its part, with maniacal persistence worthy of a better use, has consistently crawled up to the Russian borders, at the same time zombifying our neighboring countries with Russophobic horror stories," he added.

Ryabkov recalled that Russia had repeatedly warned NATO that there would be consequences for the alliance’s attempts to expand eastward.

"The Americans did not listen to our warnings and did not take them seriously, but only continued in every possible way to incite Kiev against Russia," the Russian diplomat noted, emphasizing that his country will defend its legitimate security interests.
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