"We are united by mutual obligations [on defence], firstly, within the framework of our Union State, and secondly, within the framework of the CSTO. Naturally, any attack on any member of the CSTO, especially against our closest ally, would in essence be equal to an attack on the Russian Federation", Peskov said, speaking to Belarusian television on Saturday.
Ukraine Negotiations
"In order for negotiations between two parties to take place, especially between parties which have such a complex [relationship] as Russia and Ukraine do today, it's necessary to have the mutual consent of all sides. And, in fact, the first two rounds of talks which took place in Belarus came with great difficulty", Peskov said.
"We would be happy to continue negotiations in Belarus, but the Ukrainians don't want this. For some reason, it's not convenient for them. But you must admit that the main thing is to find a place where it's possible to converge with the Ukrainian negotiators, and that talks continue, whether it's in Istanbul or somewhere else", Peskov said.
"This is a country which has completely banned any Russian-speaking and Russian media, a country that has made the Russian language secondary", he said. Peskov also pointed to the network of Pentagon-funded biolabs operating in Ukraine, saying that the "extremely dangerous pathogens, microbes and viruses" held there, as well as "projects to create new types of weapons, biological weapons, which are meant to target certain ethnic groups", are a threat to both Russia and Belarus.