MOSCOW, April 16 (RIA Novosti) – The slightest provocation or accidental confrontation in Ukraine could trigger a large-scale military conflict in the country, Spanish professor and politician Ricardo Ruiz de la Serna told RIA Novosti Wednesday.
“War is a scary threat because there is always a chance that it could turn into a prophecy. That is to say, that when there is too much talking about war, even the slightest provocation, a minor incident, might be the first spark that could later inflame the tensions,” Ruiz de la Serna warned.
The expert said that the main task now is to seek a political solution to the key Ukrainian problem, “the legitimacy of the current authorities not recognized by the eastern regions of the country.”
The next step, according to Ruiz de la Serna, is to make a decision that would meet the demands of all citizens, whether they are representatives of southeastern Ukrainian regions, “federalization protesters, considered by the West as alleged pro-Russian militants” or supporters of “the Maidan government.”
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Tuesday that tensions in eastern Ukraine are bringing the country closer to civil war.
“Ukraine is on the brink of civil war and this is frightening,” Medvedev said after three-party talks with the Belarusian and Kazakh prime ministers.
According to Medvedev, the only way out of the current stalemate is to create normal conditions for the development of the country and to set up dialogue with citizens.
“This means respecting the interests of all ethnic groups, acknowledging that Russians have the same rights as Ukrainians, in particular the right to use their language which, properly speaking, is the second official language, in their everyday life. This is a very challenging but extremely essential dialogue. And people have the right to express their personal views,” Medvedev said.
Federalization supporters in eastern Ukrainian regions have been staging mass rallies since March in a bid to hold referendums similar to the one that recently led to Crimea’s reunification with Russia.
To suppress the activists, the Ukrainian army launched a special operation on Tuesday targeting the cities of Kramatorsk and Slaviansk in the Donetsk region.
The decision was strongly condemned by Russian officials, who said the use of force against protesters was an extremely unpleasant turn of events.
