Russia warns of cutting ties with the West

“There is such a potential danger, because every day we are faced with hostile acts,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told French TV channel LCI on April 6, when asked if Moscow could considered cutting diplomatic relations after dozens of Russian diplomats were declared “unwelcome” in NATO countries.

According to Peskov, the recent wave of expulsions threatens the maintenance of diplomatic relations.

“Expelling diplomats is a decision to close the door of diplomatic relations,” he added, but stressed the need to maintain diplomatic relations, especially in the current context.

Italy, Spain and Denmark on April 5 expelled 70 Russian diplomats, a day after Germany expelled 35 and France expelled 40 diplomatic representatives from Moscow. The decision came after Russian forces allegedly killed civilians in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital Kiev. Russia denied the accusations and criticized Ukraine and Western media for conducting a fake news campaign to smear Russia’s image.

In fact, the West started expelling the Russian diplomat before the accusations about Bucha. Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland expelled 40 Russian Foreign Ministry employees on March 29. Poland expelled 40 Russian diplomats on charges of espionage, and froze the account of the Russian embassy on March 3, a move that Moscow considers a violation of the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations between countries. .

The United States and its allies did not cut diplomatic ties with Russia after Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24, but imposed a series of sanctions and restrictions on Russian individuals and the economy. .

In the interview, the Kremlin spokesman stressed that the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kiev region was a “gesture of goodwill” aimed at facilitating negotiations with Ukraine. According to him, Russia is interested in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s acceptance of the conditions proposed at the negotiations and cessation of hostilities based on those conditions.

“Ukraine needs to agree on the status of Crimea as well as the republics in the Donbass,” Peskov said, adding that it is “obvious” that the Russian Crimea and the separatist regions in the Donbass have independent state status. “.

Donbass, the eastern region of Ukraine, including the two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, has been a hotbed of fighting since 2014, after people there failed to demand increased autonomy and organized an armed protest movement. The Ukrainian government twice launched a large-scale military operation to regain control of Donbass, but both were unsuccessful.

On April 5, the President of Ukraine proposed to put aside the Donbass and Crimea issues in negotiations with Russia on ending the conflict. “I believe we will not be able to agree on all the issues at once. This is not possible, even if we conduct negotiations,” he said.

After nearly a month and a half of fighting, fighting in Ukraine has left at least 1,480 civilians dead and 2,195 injured, according to the United Nations’ secretary-general for political affairs and peacebuilding Rosemary DiCarlo. However, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) warned that the actual death toll could be higher.

At least 11.3 million people have been displaced, of which more than 4.3 million have left Ukraine for neighboring countries since Russia began its military campaign.

Huyen Le (According to RT, Sputnik)