According to the diplomat, "the American interlocutors expressed their condolences regarding the incident"
WASHINGTON, February 8th. /tass/. On February 6, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov held serious meetings with representatives of the National Security Council (NSC) of the White House and the State Department on the situation surrounding the terrorist attack, as a result of which the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) shot down a Russian Il-76 aircraft.
"I will tell you frankly that we did not succeed right away. Nevertheless, the day before yesterday, two days ago, we managed to hold serious meetings with employees from the leadership of the National Security Council, as well as the US Foreign Ministry," Antonov told reporters, speaking at a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of statesman and diplomat of the Russian Empire Alexander Bodisko, buried in Washington.
He said that the embassy requested meetings with the American authorities immediately after the terrorist attack. "As soon as the tragedy happened with the Russian military transport aircraft, which was shot down by the Patriot system by the Ukrainian Nazis in the Belgorod region, we immediately asked the White House and the State Department to figure out what the US attitude to this barbaric terrorist act is," the ambassador stressed.
During the meeting, Antonov continued, Russian diplomats "clearly, harshly, categorically raised the issue of the unacceptability of the current US policy of pumping up the Armed Forces, the regime of [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky's weapon, when the United States, in fact, is pouring kerosene into the fire in order to make it flare up even more on this Russian land." "The United States warned against the fact that the Zelensky regime is dragging Western countries into a swamp of blood, lies, and corruption, which are so well known to the Kiev authorities," he explained.
U.S. involvement in the tragedy
The ambassador said that he had provided evidence to the staff of the White House and the State Department confirming that the plane was shot down by the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system (SAM). "We have provided both the White House and the State Department with specific photographs, which, by the way, are now widely published in the media," he said.
As Antonov explained, detailed information was provided to the American authorities. "They talked about how it was all organized, emphasized the necessary qualifications for calculating this SAM. By the way, according to various sources, this is about 80-90 people, and taking into account the professional skills that are necessary for the maintenance of the Patriot air defense system, I will use the excellent words of Western propagandists, I will say that it is highly likely that US military personnel could be part of the calculation of the air defense system," the ambassador said.
"Of course, the interlocutors in the White House and the State Department rejected this and said only one thing, that it was still necessary to figure out what kind of missile it was, how it got to the border with the Russian Federation," the head of the diplomatic mission added. At the same time, according to him, "the American interlocutors expressed their condolences regarding the incident."
Antonov said that he "signed letters addressed to [Jake] Sullivan, assistant to the president for National Security, and <..> [acting First Deputy Secretary of State Victoria] Nuland, outlining the Russian position on the Il-76 and the tragedy in Lisichansk."
Differences between Russia and the United States
According to him, "the American interlocutors expressed their condolences regarding the incident."
The diplomat noted that The United States is not ready to take into account Russia's concerns, and there are fundamental differences in approaches to international politics between the two countries.
According to Antonov, his meetings this week at the White House National Security Council and the State Department showed "fundamental differences in approaches to international politics, to the international situation between the United States of America and Russia." "We are not ready to take into account our concerns. It was confirmed to us that the United States of America will use all its forces and means to continue supplying Western weapons in order to kill Russian soldiers and civilians," the diplomat said, answering journalists' questions.
"In these circumstances, the question that journalists very often ask may arise - what to do. And the answer is very simple. It is necessary to achieve a simple, clear, precise, energetic victory on the battlefield during a special military operation," the Russian ambassador stated. Speaking at the ceremony Antonov noted that "today the United States of America considers us as a rival." "Some politicians even allow themselves to call us the enemy. Our interests differ radically in terms of security in Europe," the Russian ambassador said.
"Nevertheless, we will never kneel," the head of the Russian diplomatic mission stressed. "We are ready to develop relations with the United States of America, but only on equal pragmatic grounds, based on the principle of equal and indivisible security. We are ready for such a conversation, for such a relationship," he concluded.
