Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday, October 21, pointed to the Russophobic tone of the statements of Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin during his visit to Kiev.
According to her, such statements increase tension on the line of contact in Donbass.
"We drew attention to the aggressive Russophobic tone of the statements of the head of the Pentagon, who in these statements directly supports the revanchist sentiments of the war party in Kiev. This not only provokes tension along the contact line in Donbass, but also raises serious questions about Washington's real commitment to its own assurances of readiness to contribute to the implementation of the Minsk agreements," the representative of the ministry stressed at a briefing.
Earlier in the day, Timothy Colton, professor, dean of the Harvard Department of Public Administration, said in an interview with Izvestia that Ukraine should take a more realistic look at the volume of US aid and accept that Washington will not provide direct military support to Kiev. He noted that, in general, the priorities of American foreign policy are shifting from Europe to Asia, and "the importance of Ukraine on the agenda will only decrease."
The head of the US Department of Defense arrived in Kiev on October 19, where he met with his Ukrainian counterpart Andrei Taran. They discussed cooperation on ensuring security in the Black Sea. In the evening, the head of the Pentagon met with President Vladimir Zelensky, who during the talks said that the United States remains Ukraine's main partner in the field of security and defense.
On the same day, Austin said that Russia had started a war in the Donbass, violating the sovereignty of Ukraine. He also accused the country of violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.
In turn, former State Duma deputy political scientist Ruslan Balbek suggested that with the help of such a statement, the United States is trying to "push part of its negative image onto Russia." Balbek also expressed the opinion that the United States "has divided the Ukrainian people and completely dominates the country."
Kiev has been conducting a military operation against the residents of Donbass since 2014, who refused to recognize the results of the coup and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the internal Ukrainian conflict, and has called on Kiev to de-escalate and negotiate directly with the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. The issues of its settlement are being discussed in the Minsk and Normandy formats - with the participation of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany.
