July 11 (Portal) – Russia on Tuesday warned of “disastrous consequences” for Europe if the Ukraine war escalates, as NATO leaders prepare to deliver a “positive message” to Kiev at a summit about its future prospects for accession to bring to the military alliance.
Moscow cited NATO’s eastward expansion as a key factor in its decision to invade Ukraine almost 17 months ago. On Monday, the Kremlin said that Ukraine’s entry into the alliance poses a direct threat to Russia’s security, to which the country will respond clearly and decisively.
In a series of statements by senior Russian diplomats ahead of the Vilnius NATO summit, Konstantin Gavrilov, a Vienna-based senior Russian security negotiator, accused the United States of fueling the conflict by supplying arms to Ukraine.
In an interview with Russia’s state news agency RIA, Gavrilov said the first thing Europe would have to face if the war escalated further was “catastrophic consequences”. He did not elaborate on the consequences of this.
“Let’s look at the facts – the fate of Europe is of little interest to the United States,” he said, accusing Washington of pursuing an agenda aimed at weakening and undermining Russia.
Earlier at the Vilnius summit, Russia’s Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov offered similar criticism of what he described as “anti-Russian” stance in Washington.
“Everything is being done to prepare local public opinion for approval of any anti-Russian decisions that will be taken in Vilnius in the coming days,” Antonov said in a post on the embassy’s Telegram channel.
PLANS
At the summit in the Lithuanian capital, NATO leaders will adopt the alliance’s first comprehensive plans to repel any attacks from Moscow since the end of the Cold War.
Russia’s ambassador to Belgium, Alexander Tokovinin, said in comments quoted by RIA that these plans would make NATO’s confrontation with Moscow more tense and prolonged.
Diplomats said disagreements among the allies over Ukraine’s desire for NATO membership were diminishing, although the country will not be invited to join the alliance while the war rages on.
Gavrilov told RIA: “Both the United States and NATO understand that time is not working for them. They lose in Ukraine,” said Gavrilov.
Kiev’s counter-offensive, which began last month, is progressing more slowly than hoped, but Ukraine’s military said on Monday its forces “trapped” occupying Russian forces in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut.
Portal could not immediately verify the battlefield claims.
Portal reporting; writing by Gareth Jones; Adaptation by Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson
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