According to the official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova, everything is presented in a false light
MOSCOW, February 26th. /tass/. The statement of the NATO-Ukraine Council on the occasion of the second anniversary of the start of its military operation is a classic example of anti-Russian propaganda and disinformation. This is stated in a comment by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
"On February 24, the NATO-Ukraine Council issued a statement regarding the second anniversary of the start of its military operation. This is another classic example of anti-Russian propaganda and disinformation. Everything is presented in a false light. Russia is once again accused of "invasion", "illegal annexation" of Crimea, and "intervention" in Donbas, the commentary says. - "Attempts to undermine the statehood of Ukraine" are attributed to our country. However, the blow to Ukrainian statehood was inflicted by an unconstitutional coup d'etat inspired and supported by the West. Not Russia, but the nationalist regime that came to power in Kiev in February 2014 began to destroy the country: it unleashed a civil war, outlawed millions of Russian-speaking fellow citizens, still covers up bloody crimes in Kiev, Odessa, Donbass, other cities and towns, restricts the rights of national minorities and freedom of religion. This does not exhaust the list of crimes of the Kiev regime against its own people."
About the role of guarantors
Zakharova noted that the NATO-Ukraine Council preferred not to recall the tragic date of the coup d'etat and related events for Ukrainians. "They also forgot about how in February 2014 Poland, Germany and France acted as guarantors of the agreement between the legitimate government of Ukraine and the opposition," the diplomat drew attention. - In fact, they actively supported the nationalists who were rushing to power in Kiev, and the document was almost immediately thrown into the trash. The Council also did not recall the Minsk agreements, which, as it turned out, neither the Westerners nor the Ukrainians were going to implement, but only used to strengthen the anti-Russian bridgehead in Ukraine and prepare for a forceful solution to the Donbass problem."
The statement claims that Russia "has not demonstrated any true openness to a just and lasting peace." In this regard, we recall that at the end of 2021, the Russian side handed over to the United States and NATO draft treaties providing security guarantees for our country, Zakharova said. "The main provisions for us were the refusal of the North Atlantic Bloc from expansion, the deployment of strike weapons systems near the Russian borders and the withdrawal of the alliance's capabilities and infrastructure to the 1997 position."
Moscow is convinced that "such steps could ensure de-escalation." "However, the NATO members were not ready for a serious dialogue and consideration of our concerns," stated the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The British footprint
The diplomat recalled the recent confessions made in Kiev. "The agreements reached in March 2022 in Istanbul between the Russian and Ukrainian sides on the settlement of the conflict were torpedoed by the then British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who actually forbade the Kiev wards to continue negotiations with Moscow," Zakharova noted. - It is obvious that the words of Westerners about the desire for independence and peace for Ukraine are an empty phrase. In fact, this former Soviet republic is for them only an instrument of geopolitical confrontation, and its population is expendable in a hybrid war with Russia."
"As Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly stated, our country "did not start the so-called war in Ukraine. On the contrary, we are trying to finish it," the diplomat noted.
