Russian troops move on the territory of the Russian Federation and do not threaten Ukraine, Deputy Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the UN, Alexander Pankin, said at a meeting of the Security Council of the United Nations, TASS reports.
Pankin responded to the request from Ukrainian Permanent Representative Yuri Sergeyev to immediately clarify the situation with "many hundreds" of pieces of Russian military hardware, that were allegedly deployed at the border between Russia and Ukraine.
"Let's agree that the military hardware and forces of the Russian armed forces are staying on the territory of my country. They do not threaten your country. They move on the territory of my country. Escalating passions at the Security Council, as if a battle march on Ukraine is about to take place, does not help the constructive discussion that everybody advocates here," said the Russian diplomat.
In response to the speech from his Ukrainian diplomat, Alexander Pankin cast doubt on Kiev's commitment to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in the east of Ukraine. "When we hear statements from your representatives in late October, early November, and in recent days, we are still not certain of Kiev's commitment to political and diplomatic solution to the conflict," the Russian diplomat said.
According to him, the Russian side "from the very beginning had a feeling that the Kiev authorities make no secret of the fact that the truce will be used by them to regroup troops and address military tasks."
The Russian diplomat referred to bellicose statements from Ukrainian officials, including president advisor Yury Lutsenko, who openly admitted that Kiev needed ceasefire "to receive high-precision equipment, as well as military and financial aid from the West."
Washington did not find any confirmation to the information from the OSCE and NATO. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, as usual, accused Russia of all sins at first, and then stated that the United States had no evidence to prove the deployment of Russian military hardware on the Ukrainian territory.