In an interview with FRANCE 24, Russia's Permanent Representative to the European Union denied that the six Russian naval ships in the Black Sea have anything to do with Ukraine. Vladimir A. Chizhov also insisted that Moscow has no intention to make a move on Ukrainian territory and reiterated that the Kremlin is committed to a diplomatic outcome to the crisis.
When asked why Russia had deployed such large numbers of troops and military hardware close to the Ukrainian border, Ambassador Chizhov said that this was part of "normal" exercises, and that their presence should not be considered as "threatening" to Ukraine or any other country.
We also discussed NATO's assertion that the transatlantic alliance's own increased presence in the region is down to Russian military moves around Ukraine, a claim that the ambassador rejects.
Asked about French President Emmanuel Macron's five-hour talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, Chizhov said the visit had been "useful" and that Moscow "looks forward to hearing from him in the immediate future".
The ambassador also stated that Russia sees the Minsk agreements as "the only existing basis for progress towards a political settlement in Donbas", the eastern Ukraine region under pro-Russian separatist control since 2015.
However, Chizhov rejected the suggestion that Russia could influence whether the Minsk agreements are complied with or not, insisting that Russia is "not party to" this conflict – despite a leading official from the pro-Kremlin ruling party, Andrey Turchak, recently saying that Russia could send "certain weapons" to separatists it backs in the Donbas region.
