Moscow operation in Ukraine attempt to prevent WWIII: Russia FM

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Moscow's military operation in Ukraine is not a beginning of a war, but rather an attempt at curbing a global one, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

"First of all, it is not a beginning of a war. It is very important. Our desire is to prevent the developments that could escalate into a global war. Second of all, it is the end of a war," Zakharova told NTV, a Russian broadcaster.

Zakharova also added that Western countries, specifically the US and France, were to blame for the failure of diplomatic efforts around Ukraine.

"After Geneva, the negotiations were to be further held with the next round taking place in Paris. However, Paris has refused to negotiate and abandoned all of its mediation efforts which French President [Emmanuel Macron] so zealously insisted on in public," the spokesperson added.

Zakharova also said there was no need to "persuade" Moscow to take a seat at the negotiations "since we always take the chance. Now it is clear that apparently, they were not going to [negotiate]."

She added that due to their failure to hold talks on Kiev, the western nations should be held accountable. Washington and Paris, she underlined, calling them their "heroes".

The situation has been escalating in Donbass, near the Russian borders, following the Russian recognition of the independence of Lugansk and the People's Republics.

Tensions had been soaring between Russia and Ukraine over the Donbass region and announcing it was intending to sign a decree recognizing the independence of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). 

The announcement had been preceded by intense Ukrainian shelling of the two republics, and Russia's recognition of their statehood was a move to protect the innocent civilians from the Ukrainian aggressions.

Putin earlier stressed that NATO-allied neo-Nazis were moving closer to the Russian borders from Ukraine, the Russian president authorized a special military operation in Donbass this Thursday morning.

"Leading NATO countries pursue their own goal by fully supporting Ukraine's extreme Nazis and neo-Nazis, who, in turn, will never forgive the people of Crimea and Sevastopol for their free choice to reunify with Russia", said the Russian president.

In response to the Russian operation in Donbass, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have agreed to hold consultations in accordance with NATO's Article 4.

Russia has for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.