He did not rule out the possibility of Western provocations in the Donbas
New York (UN). February 15th. INTERFAX - Reports spread in the West that Russia could allegedly launch an "invasion" of Ukraine on Wednesday, February 16, are strange and ridiculous, said Dmitry Polyansky, First Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN.
"I don't know anything about it and I don't see any reason for it. I have seen such reports in the Western media and in the United States. They are strange and ridiculous," the diplomat said in an interview with the fourth channel of German television in response to the host's question whether the diplomat could confirm the information being disseminated.
The interviewer said that Moscow has recently changed its tone regarding the Ukrainian crisis, and asked if this means that Russia is afraid of threats of tougher sanctions from the West?
"I don't see any changes in my rhetoric, the rhetoric of the Foreign Minister or my colleagues. They remain consistent throughout the month. There are no changes in our behavior, as there are no changes in the way our Western colleagues present the situation," Polyansky replied.
He added that "the threat of sanctions is also nothing new for us."
In response to a question about why Russia is not taking concrete measures to de-escalate the situation, the diplomat said: "Russia cannot de-escalate because we have not escalated. Let the Western countries, which have inflated hysteria about the plans attributed to Russia, deal with de-escalation."
In an interview with the Internet portal thegrayzone.com Polyansky, speaking about the information disseminated by the United States about the timing of the "invasion" being prepared by Russia, noted that "these messages turned out to be strange not only for us, but also for Ukrainians."
"It seems that only the Americans know about this, but they do not share information with us or with Ukrainians," he said.
At the same time, as the Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation said, "there is a danger that, perhaps, the United States and its allies are referring to the organization of provocations involving Ukrainian forces on the contact line."
