Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Russia has no desire to get involved in large-scale conflicts, but should be able to respond to any threat.
“Russia is far from being involved in any large-scale conflicts. We don›t want that and don›t plan on it. But naturally, we should always be ready to repel any aggression towards Russia,” he said, speaking to a youth camp outside Moscow.
Russian forces are engaged in direct military operations inside Ukraine in a blatant violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said on Friday.
“Despite Moscow’s hollow denials, it is now clear that Russian troops and equipment have illegally crossed the border into eastern and south-eastern Ukraine,” Rasmussen said. “This is not an isolated action, but part of a dangerous pattern over many months to destabilise Ukraine as a sovereign nation,” he added.
He said Nato would fully respect any decision by the Ukrainian parliament to abandon Ukraine’s non-aligned status and set the country on a course to seek to become a Nato member.