Kremlin says conflict in Ukraine escalating, can be stopped if West 'repents'

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The conflict in Ukraine is escalating and NATO's involvement has been increasing by the day, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

"Indeed, it (conflict) is developing in an upward spiral. We see the growing indirect and sometimes direct involvement of NATO countries in this conflict," Peskov told a press briefing in Moscow.

The escalation could be stopped if the West repents its cynicism and cheating with the Minsk agreements (meant to end fighting by Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine), and takes into account Russia's interests, he added.

The agreements, however, were never fully implemented. Moscow says once it became fully clear that Kyiv will not execute the accords, it launched a "special military operation" in Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Commenting on a meeting of Western officials at Germany's Ramstein military base over the issue of deliveries of heavy tanks to Ukraine, Peskov said supplies will not significantly change the situation but "will add problems for Ukraine and for the Ukrainian people."

Peskov reiterated that last year's partial military mobilization, in which Russia called up 300,000 volunteers to fight in Ukraine, is over and urged to rely on official information instead of posts on social media.

On Pentagon's announcement about attempts to convince Latin American countries to transfer weapons to Ukraine, the spokesman said Russia will closely monitor the situation.

"It is very important here (to keep in mind) legal restrictions on supplies to third countries. Because any deliveries, they are, of course, conditioned by certain obligations of those countries that receive military products," he noted.

Turning to the Russian-US relations, Peskov said the two years of the Biden administration have been "very bad" for bilateral ties, which rolled down to "the lowest point in history" without hope for improvement in the foreseeable future.