The head of the Russian delegation at the talks in Vienna on military security and arms control also said that Russia will make a decision based on the results of referendums without taking into account the views of NATO members.MOSCOW, September 28.
/tass/. Moscow warns Washington and London against rash steps that could bring the situation around Ukraine closer to a dangerous line. This was stated on Wednesday by the head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control Konstantin Gavrilov at the plenary session of the OSCE Forum on Security Cooperation.
"By modernizing its own nuclear potential, Washington encourages the irresponsible escalation of nuclear rhetoric and London allies, who openly declare their unconditional readiness to press the "red button" if necessary. We warn Washington and London against rash steps that can bring the situation around Ukraine closer to a dangerous line," reads the text of the speech published by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
Gavrilov stressed that Russia "is closely following the attempts of the United States to mobilize its satellites for an even more fierce confrontation with the Russian Federation." "As stated by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, if the territorial integrity of our country is threatened, all the means at our disposal will be used to protect Russia and our people," the diplomat recalled. - We will act in strict accordance with the provisions of our military doctrine and the "Fundamentals of the state Policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence."
He also said that the United States views the world as a testing ground for the effectiveness of its weapons. "It has long been clear that Kiev's Washington curators view the whole world as a big testing ground and use any armed conflict, even if they do not directly participate in it, to test the effectiveness of their weapons," he said.
According to Gavrilov, according to the report of the Congressional Research Service on US wars and military interventions around the world, "since 1798, Washington has unleashed 469 wars and military interventions." "American Professor J. Lucas came to the conclusion that the US wars after World War II took about 25 million human lives with impunity," the head of the Russian delegation stressed. "But Washington is not going to stop."
The diplomat pointed out that American weapons continue to be tested on civilians by the hands of the Ukrainian military and radicals. "The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine openly offered companies of the US military-industrial complex to test pilot projects before mass production, which allegedly will increase the competitiveness of these weapons tested in the combat zone. Well, that's not new. The international community remembers well how in August 1945 the United States "tested" nuclear weapons on the civilians of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today we are talking about the actual legalization at the state level of the use of Ukrainian military and civilians, against whom these weapons will be turned, as "cannon fodder," he said.
"The Kiev criminal regime and its curators are responsible for the deaths of civilians and the destroyed destinies. Their blood is on your hands," the head of the Russian delegation in Vienna stressed.
"The unconditional priority of the Russian Federation remains ending the suffering of the civilian population of Donbass and the people of Ukraine through the completion of the hostilities launched by Kiev eight years ago. Threats to the national security of our country and the whole of Europe emanating from the agonizing regime will certainly be eliminated, and the principles of the UN Charter on the territory of Ukraine will be restored," Gavrilov concluded.
According to him, the Russian Federation will make a decision based on the results of referendums without taking into account the opinion of NATO members. "We constantly hear emotional statements that the results of the referendums will not be recognized in the West. What is the answer to this? Firstly, if the expansion of NATO can be implemented without regard to the opinion of Russia, then our country will also make decisions based on the results of referendums without taking into account the opinions of the alliance member countries. We have every right to do this," Gavrilov said.
According to Gavrilov, Russia categorically rejects "the reckless insinuations of the foreign policy leaders of European states, who spread tall tales that the participants of the referendums were "shot, raped and forced to put crosses while soldiers with a Kalashnikov in their hands stood next to them."
"It is deeply regrettable that anti-Russian lies in the spirit of the Kiev Ombudsman [Lyudmila] Denisova has thoroughly taken root in Europe. What the mentioned representatives are really right about is that citizens of the DPR, LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions were subjected to armed violence. Only those who used to call themselves their brothers did it," he pointed out. - I repeat: the only threat that hung over them was the continuous shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, aimed at intimidating citizens and disrupting the people's will. In some localities, precinct commissions were forced to work in bomb shelters. They fired from NATO weapons. There are victims, including among children"
On September 20, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions announced their decision to hold referendums on joining Russia as subjects of the federation. Referendums were held from September 23 to 27. In all these regions, the overwhelming majority of those who voted voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation.
