Russia And Ukraine Share Centuries Of History, Speaker Of Parliament: We Will Do Everything To Prevent War

Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Valentina Matviyenko. (Wikimedia Commons/Kremlin.ru/Администрация езидента оссии)

JAKARTA - Russia will do everything in its power to prevent war with Ukraine, Federation Council Chair Valentina Matviyenko said Wednesday.

"Our position has been clearly determined by the Russian leadership, we, on our side, will do everything to prevent a war with Ukraine, to ensure it never starts, not today, not tomorrow, not the day after," said the speaker of the upper house of the Russian parliament. said this in an interview with the Russian Parliamentarianskaya Gazeta, as reported by TASS February 16.

"The thought of war is a total absurdity to us," he said, adding that Russia and Ukraine had a common history for centuries.

"Of course, our countries have not lived through the best times in relations, to put it mildly. Nevertheless, I believe any problem can be resolved peacefully, through diplomatic means and political means," Matviyenko continued.

Matviyenko further said that he believed there was no objective reason to accuse Russia of carrying out an aggressive plan.

"No wonder that the topic of the attack on Ukraine, fanned by the West in recent weeks, has no evidence to back it up, nothing but theory," he said.

Russian tanks leave the site after a military exercise. (Source: Russian Ministry of Defense)

According to the senator, certain powers in the United States and the West in general are pushing Ukraine to war with Russia.

" Simultaneously, NATO has started military development on the territory of Ukraine. Its armed forces are being pumped up with military equipment, ammunition, weaponry, including offensive ones, " he explained.

"The aforementioned forces hope to create a hotbed of instability near the Russian border. This strategy is not new to us," Matviyenko said.

According to him, in this situation, it would be logical for Russia to "take steps aimed at enhancing the security of its territory and its citizens", as well as to "play out the entire scope of possible measures, political, diplomatic, military and informational."

"And this is exactly what is being done now," he said.

To note, Russia has amassed more than 100.000 troops near the Ukrainian border, sparking fears of an invasion, especially since Moscow's February 10-20 joint drills with Belarus meant Ukraine was almost surrounded by the Russian military.

Despite denying plans to attack Ukraine, Moscow has demanded legally binding guarantees from the United States and NATO that Kyiv will not be allowed to join the military bloc. Washington and Brussels have so far refused to make any such promises.

The Kremlin early Tuesday confirmed the withdrawal of some Russian troops from the Ukrainian border following military drills, but said the move was premeditated and stressed Russia would continue to move troops across the country as it wishes.