*Future events in Ukraine will show how prepared the West is to take Russia’s security concerns into account, Anatoly Antonov says
Russian draft agreements on security guarantees will be reviewed when the special military operation in Ukraine is completed, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov wrote in his article for Newsweek.
“Let me remind you that no one has removed the Russian draft agreements on security guarantees from the table. Of course, after the special military operation will be over, their content will have to be adapted to the realities,” the diplomat wrote.
This is just as the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said it was no longer possible for Ukraine to return to its previous borders.
The Ukraine that you and I had known, within the borders that used to be, no longer exists, and will never exist again. This is evident,” the diplomat said in an interview to Sky News – Arabia, published in her Telegram channel on Friday.
Future developments in Ukraine will reveal the degree of West’s readiness to take Russian security concerns into account, the Russian U.S. Ambassador continued.
“As for Ukraine itself, the development of the situation with this country is a litmus test that will show the readiness of Western states to take into account Russian concerns. Further progress towards the stabilization of European security will depend on the outcome of the crisis settlement process in Ukraine,” the Russian embassy quoted Antonov as saying.
In his words, the United States has started to interfere in Russia’s domestic policy and create national security threats to the country, inching closer and closer to its borders.
“For a long time, we patiently explained to our colleagues the inadmissibility of such actions. We warned about the imminence of a strong and adequate response. They didn’t listen to us and tried to ignore us purporting that our place is ‘in the back seat,’” he said.
Meanwhile, the head of the Lugansk People’s Republic, Leonid Pasechnik, said the country may hold a referendum on accession to Russia. The head of another Donbass republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said the issue on joining Russia will “become the number one issue” once the republic restores its constitutional borders.
Besides, officials of the military-civilian administration of the Kherson Region, an area that has been under Russia’s control since mid-March, have repeatedly stressed that the region was seeking to join Russia as well.
Also, a senior official with the military-civilian administration of another region, Zaporozhye, said the territory hopes to join Russia and become a part of its Southern Federal District (TASS).
