MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/: Large-scale movements of troops are observed in Ukraine near the territories of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics (DPR and LPR) , which only escalates tensions in the region, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
Commenting on Ukraine’s request for a meeting with Russia and other signatories to the Vienna Document to clarify the situation around the movements of Russian troops along the Ukrainian border, the Kremlin spokesman once again stressed that "Russian troops are moving on Russia’s territory."
But, in his words, "no less large-scale movements of Ukrainian troops, various army units are being observed in the border areas on Ukraine’s territory, in the zone bordering the self-proclaimed republics." "Naturally, it only adds to the current tensions," he said, adding that this is all he has to say concerning the topic of the requested meeting.
On February 11, Kiev requested Russia provide, within 48 hours, explanations concerning its "military activities" in areas adjacent to Ukraine’s borders, including in Crimea. The Ukrainian foreign minister warned back then that in case Kiev got no response from Russia it would request Russia and other member nations of the Vienna Document call an extraordinary meeting on this matter. On February 13, Kuleba said Ukraine had requested such a meeting.
Adopted within the OSCE in 2011, the Vienna Document provides for measures for building up security and trust between the states. It envisages concrete procedures of relations between the military of the OSCE member states.
The West and Kiev have recently been echoing allegations about Russia’s potential invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such claims and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.
