MOSCOW, August 1 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday that recent remarks by the top UN human rights official shed doubt on claims of Russia's direct involvement in escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay told reporters in Geneva on Thursday that the United Nations did not possess any hard evidence that Russia supplied independence supporters in eastern Ukraine with weapons.
"We consider it [Pillay's statement] as yet another confirmation of the fact that all accusations against our country over its alleged role in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis are groundless and unwarranted," the ministry said in a statement.
Washington and Kiev have both claimed they have proof that Russia had been supporting the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics through the provision of military equipment. However, no evidence has been made public so far either by the United States or Ukraine
The Russian ministry also said it was surprised by the fact that Western media had ignored Pillay's statement.
"Apparently, it did not fit the purposeful campaign of disinformation, which aims at trying to shuffle off the responsibility for the events in Ukraine onto Russia.
Moscow has denied supporting militia forces in turbulent Ukrainian regions and said earlier this week that the Kiev government intensified military operations against its own people after getting support from Western countries.
Washington said it planned to give Kiev $7 million in aid, and possibly provide more funds in business development schemes. The US government was still undecided on whether to favor Ukraine’s request for lethal weapons to fight what they claim to be Russian-backed "separatists," US Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Monday.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned Kiev’s military campaign against the population in the east of the country and called for an immediate stop to the punitive operation, advocating a peaceful solution to the crisis.
