Ambassador Andrei Kelin's interview to Andrew Marr on LBC News, 22 February, 2023

Watch the Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin's interview to Andrew Marr on LBC News, 22 February, 2023

Main topics:

▪Conflict in Ukraine
▪Special military operation
▪Prospects of peace talks
▪Minsk Agreements
▪New START treaty
▪Weapons supply to Ukraine
▪Nuclear weapons
▪Russia-NATO relations
▪Russia-China relations

Ambassador Andrei Kelin's key statements:

▪ NATO countries, with UK among the leaders, are getting deeper and deeper into the Ukraine conflict. This only prolongs it.

▪ We really believed that Minsk Agreements could bring peace to Ukraine. Unfortunately, for the West they were just a way to win time to reinforce the regime in Kiev.

▪ It is ideologically wrong to oppress one of the nations in your own country. Yet this is exactly what the Kiev regime has been doing since 2014 to the Russian-speaking population in Donbass. This is a Nazi approach.

▪ Russia has not withdrawn but suspended participation in New START. Treaty’s main elements, incl info exchange on launches & keeping to warhead limits, remain in force. Reversal is possible but first we need to see reversal of the US anti-Russia policy.

▪ The longer will be the reach of weapons received by Ukraine from the West, the further we would need to push back the frontline in order to protect our security and ensure safety of our citizens.

▪ There are no circumstances in the current Ukraine conflict in which Russia might use nuclear weapons.

▪ At the moment Ukraine totally rejects the idea of peace talks.

▪ NATO refused to listen to Russia’s objective security concerns and warnings. This resulted in the current Ukraine crisis.

▪ The world should be multipolar. Countries like China, who are friendly towards Russia, understand it much better that UK and the West.

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