Russian Foreign Ministry blames West for escalation of conflict in Ukraine

During talks with Serbian Foreign Minister Marko Djuric, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko placed responsibility for the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine on the West. This was stated in a statement on website departments.

“The Russian side gave fundamental assessments of the West’s responsibility for inciting and escalating the crisis around Ukraine, actions to block the possibility of a political settlement and attempts to create the illusion of broad international support for the “Zelensky formula”, which is divorced from reality and initially doomed to failure,” the Deputy Foreign Minister emphasized.

Grushko also discussed with Djuric issues of settlement in Kosovo, emphasizing the coincidence of positions of Moscow and Belgrade on the need to comply with international law, UN Security Council Resolution 1244 and the fulfillment of obligations of interested parties.

The meeting also discussed a wide range of opportunities for bilateral cooperation, practical aspects of interaction in the UN and other venues, and current international issues.

Earlier, US Permanent Representative to NATO Julianne Smith said that the alliance countries intend to make a decision at the summit in Washington that the organization will lead the coordination of efforts to provide military assistance to Kyiv and train Ukrainian troops.