The Ukrainian government allegedly sought help in fighting Russia from jihadists in Syria
The US should stop Ukraine from seeking help from foreign terrorists, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told RT on Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, Turkish media reports claimed that Ukrainian security officials had held a secret meeting with leaders of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization in Syria’s Idlib province. They reportedly offered to deliver dozens of drones in exchange for the release of several Chechen and Georgian extremists who then could be sent to Ukraine to fight Russia, the newspaper Aydinlik claimed.
RT asked Ryabkov about the claims in an interview on the sidelines of the BRICS Security Forum in St. Petersburg. The senior diplomat said Moscow has not brought up the issue with Washington, because contacts are very limited, and suggested that the US should take action without a nudge from Russia.
“They should order Kiev to stop such activities. Otherwise we will face further dangerous developments across the board,” he said.
The Russian government generally considers the US responsible for Ukraine’s actions, Ryabkov stressed, since “Washington completely and totally controls Kiev.” The increasing escalation of the Ukraine conflict “may well end very badly” for the Americans, he warned.
The US is under the influence of a self-induced delusion that a nuclear nation such as Russia can be defeated on the battlefield, Ryabkov said. Together with their Western allies the Americans are refusing to acknowledge the “very dire reality” that the opposite is true.
Ukrainian officials previously boasted about its intelligence agents helping a militant group in Mali ambush and kill dozens of Russian contractors from the Wagner private military company in July during fighting near the border with Algeria. A branch of al-Qaeda called Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin has claimed that its fighters took part in the ambush along with several other parties.
The Malian government and its allies in the Sahel region were outraged at the Ukrainian officials’ statements, accusing Kiev of sponsoring terrorism. The Ukrainian government disavowed the controversial statements following the backlash and denied any involvement in the skirmish.
