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Russia Foreign Minister Warns Ukraine

DOW JONES & COMPANY, INC. 7:39 AM ET 04/23/14

MOSCOW--Any attack on Russians in Ukraine will be perceived as an attack against Russia, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying Wednesday, as Ukraine called for a renewal of a stalled military operation against pro- Russian forces that have taken over several eastern cities.

Drawing parallels to tensions that kicked off Russia's 2008 conflict with Georgia, Mr. Lavrov said the country will respond if the interests of the Russian people are harmed in Ukraine the same way they were in South Ossetia.

Russia was involved in an armed 10-day conflict with Georgia on the grounds that it was protecting ethnic Russians in that breakaway region. Only Russia and three other countries have so far recognized an independent republic of South Ossetia.

"If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law," Mr. Lavrov said, referring to the Ukrainian crisis, according to online excerpts of an English-language interview to air Wednesday on the Russia Today TV channel. He didn't elaborate on what such a response would be.

"Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation," he said.

Mr. Lavrov's comments follow a U.S. decision on Tuesday to send troops for maneuvers in Eastern Europe and a warning from U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in Kiev that Russia could face new sanctions if it doesn't pull back troops from the border and abide by an agreement that includes vacating Russian forces from government buildings.

In Kiev, interim President Oleksandr Turchynov called Tuesday evening for a renewal of the government's stalled military operation against pro-Russian forces that have taken over several cities in eastern Ukraine.

Mr. Lavrov accused Washington of orchestrating the unrest in Ukraine. "There is no reason not to believe that the Americans are running the show," he said, according to the excerpts on Russia Today's website.

He also said that Russian troops haven't crossed the border into Ukraine. Ukraine says the militants holding government buildings are led by Russian agents, and that Moscow is aiming to slice off another piece of Ukrainian territory after annexing Crimea last month.

President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said there were no Russian military forces before Moscow annexed Ukraine's region of Crimea. In a televised question-and-answer session last week, he for the first time publicly acknowledged that Russian troops were behind the annexation.

Write to Andrey Ostroukh at [e-mail]

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
04-23-140739ET
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