Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: Ukraine crisis is far from over

According to RIA Novosti on November 27, in an interview with Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the crisis in Ukraine is far from being resolved diplomatically; Moscow's warnings about being ready to respond to attacks deep inside Russian territory have been ignored.

“Judging by what is happening on the battlefield, we are still very far from a political and diplomatic solution to the crisis,” Foreign Minister Lavrov said.

“An escalation would be the launching of missile strikes deep into the territory” of Russia, Lavrov noted.

“All our warnings that there would be an adequate response to these unacceptable actions were ignored... The lack of escalation by the enemy would force us to retreat from achieving the goals of the special military operation,” Lavrov said.

Reiterating President Vladimir Putin's statement, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow is ready for any developments of the event, but always gives priority to resolving controversial issues by peaceful means.

The root causes of the conflict need to be eliminated, including “the creation of long-term threats to Russia’s security on its western flank, including NATO’s expansion to its eastern flank,” and Kiev’s violation of the rights of “Russians and people attached to Russian culture, Russian heritage and the Orthodox faith,” Lavrov added.

“A necessary element of a political solution to the conflict is demilitarization and de-fascization, ensuring the non-aligned, neutral and nuclear-free status of the territories controlled by Ukraine. Of course, a condition of any agreement will be the recognition of the political and territorial realities enshrined in the Russian Constitution,” Lavrov said.