Washington Seeking Change of Power in Russia - Russian Official

Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said that Americans are trying to draw Russia into an international military conflict and use the situation in Ukraine to force the change of power in Russia with the ultimate goal of splitting the country.

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) — The United States is actively using the Ukrainian conflict to force a change of power in Moscow and split Russian society, Russia's Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said.

"Americans are trying to draw Russia into an international military conflict and use the situation in Ukraine to force the change of power [in Russia] with the ultimate goal of splitting the country," Patrushev said in an interview with the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper published on Tuesday.

He added that Washington is not concerned about Ukraine. Rather, it is using the crisis in Ukraine as a lever to influence Russia.

So far, the United States has been calling on its allies to stand united against Russia, in a bid to isolate Moscow over its alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict. Russia has denied being involved in the crisis militarily.

Most recently, Washington announced that it was considering arming Ukrainian troops, claiming Russia was doing the same for anti-Kiev militias.

Russia and the European Union have both voiced concern that proposed US arms deliveries to Ukraine could lead to a surge of violence in crisis-hit Ukraine, where almost 5,500 have died since clashes began last April. Germany, Britain and France have already ruled out lethal aid to Kiev in present circumstances.