Ukrainian official: The armed conflict in Ukraine can flare up again
A new phase of an armed conflict is going to flare up in Ukraine sooner or later, according to a Ukrainian political expert of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine, Olga Aivazovska, at a briefing with journalist.
“What is happening in the media with regards to the narrative that Ukraine has to accept the loss of the Crimea... is not the way to achieve peace. It can only delay the crisis or the new phase of the armed conflict, which will start sooner or later. Ukrainian society cannot easily accept the concession of giving up the Ukrainian interests," she said.
Previously, the candidate for the post of the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during the hearings in Senate spoke in favor of supplying Ukraine with lethal weapons in case the hostilities in the Donbas continue. "I think it is important for us to provide all necessary support to Ukraine in order to enable it to protect itself from further expansion or aggression," he said.
In response, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow will expound all the issues about the Donbas to the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
"I would leave Tillerson’s statement about lethal weapons without any comment. We will explain all relevant issues to the Secretary of State Tillerson as they appear," Peskov said.