Russian Ambassador to UK does not expect Ukrainian conflict to intensify soon

Russia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrei Kelin
©Yuri Mikhailenko/TASS

The conflict in Ukraine is unlikely to exacerbate in the coming days or weeks, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin said in an interview to BBC.

"I do not envisage that in the coming weeks or days we will have serious events on the ground," the ambassador said, adding that the situation in Ukraine currently appears to be "more stabilized," allowing Russian forces to regroup.

The ambassador stressed the "need to end the fight that started not now, not in February, but a few years ago, in 2014."

When asked about the possibility of using Russian tactical weapons in Ukraine, the ambassador ruled out this scenario.

"There is no intention. It is not a situation when nuclear weapons can be used at all," he said. "I do believe there is no possibility that we can come to implement tactical nuclear weapons.".

Moscow, Kiev not engaged in informal talks

Russia is not engaging in any kind of informal talks with Ukraine due to the ‘stubborn’ attitude of the Kiev government, Russian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Andrey Kelin said in an interview to BBC.

"Informal negotiations are not going on, because Kiev is very stubborn, Kiev has an illusion that it can win this war. It is pure illusion, it is not possible, but Kiev can not reject having weapons and money from the West. This is a problem," Kelin said.

"Every conflict, every war end at the table of negotiations," the diplomat added.

The ambassador went on to say that Moscow and Kiev were close to signing a peace agreement in April, but the Ukrainian government "decided differently" after receiving weapons from the United States.

He called upon Western countries to stop supplying the Kiev government with weapons, because Ukraine has already lost "quite a lot of territory, of its economic potential, of its agriculture and so on."

"Right now, its human potential is exhausting, and the West do not think about the human potential of Ukraine. We will have a black hole in the place of Ukraine that has no economy, no its own money and even no its own people," Kelin said.