Russia Values The United States Of "Playing Fire" In An Indirect War With Moscow

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov. (Wikimedia Commons/Ballk MSC)

JAKARTA - Russian diplomats on Friday said the United States had long been involved in an indirect war with Moscow and played with Ukraine, behaving in such a way that the situation could get out of control.

Comments made by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov in an interview with TASS news agency reflect Russia's growing concern over what Moscow sees as Western dangerous escalation in Ukraine.

"We warn that they are playing with fire. They have long been involved in an indirect war with the Russian Federation," Ryabkov told TASS, referring to the United States.

"They failed to realize that, to fulfill their geopolitical ideas, they are approaching a phase where it will be very difficult to control what is happening and prevent a dramatic crisis,"

It is known that Ukraine and Western countries accuse Russia of carrying out an unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine aimed at seizing territory.

Moscow says what it calls a "special military operation" launched in February 2022, is defensive and aims to strengthen Russia's security against Western enemies.

Russia has interpreted recent Western diplomat comments as a change in its aggressive attitude.

Russia's Defense Ministry said this month President Vladimir Putin had ordered exercises using tactical nuclear weapons which officials said were a response to Western rhetoric.

British Foreign Minister David Cameron, during a visit to Kyiv on May 3, said Ukraine had the right to use weapons provided by Britain to strike targets in Russia, and it was up to Kyiv whether or not to do so.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made similar comments about the weapons he supplied during his visit Wednesday to Kyiv, where he accused President Putin of "increasing another attack on Ukraine" in the eastern region.

Blinken said Washington "does not push or allow attacks outside Ukraine, but in the end Ukraine must make its own decisions about how they will carry out this war."

Washington DC and the European Union's steps to look into the possible use of Russian assets or their advantages to help Ukraine have also angered Moscow. Russia accuses Washington of trying to oppress European countries into taking more radical steps to thwart these efforts in Ukraine.

Ryabkov said Uncle Sam's country did not seem aware of the great risks posed by its behavior.

"This rhetoric, this drum game, a persistent pass from their allies to further help Ukraine, to expand their support, shows only one thing: people are alive, as they themselves say, 'in boxes'," he criticized.

"This is a big risk in the current situation, because it is impossible for them (Americans) to qualify," he said.

Ryabkov complained that the West had taken a strategic uncertainty and ambiguity stance against Russia, trying to make it difficult for Moscow to predict how NATO would react in various situations, including with nuclear weapons.

"Russia will rule out the topic of red line' and will respond to the West in the same way," Ryabkov said.

"Russian diplomacy with the West is now in crisis management mode and is focused on efforts to ensure tensions do not spread into large-scale conflicts," he added.