Kremlin spokesman Peskov: tension on the border between Russia and Ukraine is too high
Dmitry Peskov. Photo: Ramil Sitdikov / RIA Novosti
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there is too much tension on the border between Russia and Ukraine. He spoke about this in an interview with CNN, video clips of which were published on the Twitter account of The Hill.
Peskov noted that tensions in this part of Europe are “extremely dangerous for our continent.” He stressed that this is the reason why Moscow insists on getting a direct and “very specific” answer from the US on speculations about security guarantees. “This is the only way in the direction of detente in the current situation,” the Kremlin spokesman added.
Peskov also commented on reports about Russia's alleged plans to escalate the situation around Ukraine. He pointed out that the US did not provide any evidence for such allegations. “We live in a world of fake accusations, fake news, a world of lies,” he said. In addition, the presidential press secretary stressed that there is no military escalation on the part of Russia against Ukraine.
Various tracks
In an interview, Peskov, commenting on the results of negotiations on security guarantees, said that Russia, on the one hand, and the United States and NATO, on the other, are on completely different tracks. He stressed that although there is some understanding among the negotiators, this situation is a source of concern.
The Kremlin spokesman also pointed to the need for Moscow to obtain legally binding guarantees of non-acceptance of Kiev into NATO, because otherwise the chances of Ukraine joining the alliance would remain, writes Bloomberg.
On January 10, negotiations were held in Geneva on guarantees of security and strategic stability between the delegations of Russia and the United States. According to a State Department spokesman, in total, the discussion between the officials of the two countries lasted about 7.5 hours. On January 12, a meeting of the Russia-NATO Council was held.
At the same time, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, US representatives promised to answer questions about security guarantees that were discussed at the talks in Geneva next week. “The Americans promised us to try, but we told them that we need to try very hard, to make our counter proposals next week,” the minister said.
Again “Russian” hackers
Peskov, in an interview with an American television channel, also said that Russia had nothing to do with the latest hacker attacks on Ukrainian government sites. He stressed that the Kremlin saw reports of hacking of Ukrainian resources, but Moscow was not involved in this.
We are used to the fact that the Ukrainian side blames Russia for everything, even bad weather in their country
Dmitry PeskovPress Secretary of the President of Russia
According to the press secretary of the head of state, the Kremlin heard accusations that Russia was behind the cyber attack, but no evidence was provided. He noted that Moscow sees this as a continuation of other unsubstantiated accusations against Russia.
A hacker attack on Ukrainian government websites occurred on the night of January 13-14. The websites of the Cabinet of Ministers, the ministries of foreign affairs, education, sports, energy, agricultural policy, as well as the state emergency services were unavailable. A message from hackers appeared on some of them, written in three languages, and badges with the coat of arms of Ukraine, the flag and the pig crossed out.
Later, the Ukrainian communications service called this hacker attack “the most powerful in four years.” The Ukrainian Ministry of Culture blamed Russia for the incident.
After the deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine, Sergei Demedyuk, said that hackers from the UNC1151 group, which “is engaged in cyber espionage and is associated with the special services of the Republic of Belarus,” are behind the attack. He also expressed confidence that what happened was a front for “more destructive actions that are taking place outside the public eye.”
