MOSCOW, August 29 (RIA Novosti) – No evidence of the Russian military being present in Ukraine has ever been presented, while accusations have flown about wildly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday.
“Accusations have been heard before, we have been accused from practically the very beginning of the crisis that we are to blame, so we’ve heard these tales several times, but no one has ever given any evidence [of Russian troops in Ukraine],” Lavrov said during a joint press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif in Moscow.
Since the beginning of the military conflict, Kiev has been accusing Russia of sending troops and weapons to independence supporters in the region.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Russian troops had entered Ukraine. The statement came as NATO released satellite images that it claimed showed Russian self-propelled artillery on Ukrainian territory. The alliance said about 1,000 Russian servicemen were taking part in hostilities in eastern Ukraine. Washington has failed to verify the information.
Russia has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian crisis, urging Kiev to stop the bloodshed and establish a direct dialogue with representatives of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
