Russia’s ‘special military operation started to defend the Donbass region’ has virtually turned into a war with the collective West, Russian Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.
He spoke in an interview with RT specifically on the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, stating: “In fact, the special military operation against Ukraine, against the Kiev regime, was launched to ensure the safety of the people of Donbass. This is correct. Now it is practically a war between Moscow and the collective West.”
Recalling Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about establishing a “cordon sanitaire” on the territory of Ukraine if the shelling of Russian regions by Ukraine continues, Peskov said that as the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine expands, so will the buffer zone, “that is, the distance that we will have to move Ukrainians away from our territories.”
This is as Putin stated that during talks with representatives from seven African countries, they were able to discuss all major aspects of the Ukrainian crisis.
“It seems to me that we have discussed in detail many – at least the most important – elements, difficulties related to the situation, for the resolution of which you have come to Russia,” he said during a meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Putin also invited Ramaphosa to discuss bilateral relations and interaction in international groups such as BRICS.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with delegates from seven African countries to discuss the situation in Ukraine. He stressed that Russia is ready to consider any proposals from African states on the Ukrainian settlement. Earlier, the African delegation discussed the initiative with Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky in Kiev.
During the talks with Putin, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa presented the 10 main points of the peace plan, which include de-escalation of the conflict on both sides, diplomatic negotiations, ensuring the sovereignty of states in accordance with the UN Charter, exchange of prisoners, post-war reconstruction and others.
In response, Putin noted that Ukraine had withdrawn from the talks with Russia on its own initiative, despite the fact that a peace agreement had been tentatively signed in Istanbul.
TASS