When ask whether Russia would retaliate if “sanctions are imposed by the UK, by the US”, he said: “All the time, to every sanction, it will be retaliation measures of course.
“We have our government, economists, central bank and all of that, and they will be prepared for any kind of retaliation, which, if measures, sanctions measures will happen, retaliation will be done immediately.”
He added that he was 100% sure that war would not happen between Russian and Ukraine, and said: “The military drills will come to an end on the see by this Saturday, in Belarus, as it was announced by the 20th of February.
“And the wrap up, wrap up of deployment of forces is now in progress. And it will come to an end.
“But of course, we should not exclude provocations. But I do believe that we can resolve these by negotiations and by talks.”
He also talked about disinformation, fake news, the recognition of the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the scrap of the golden visa scheme in the UK.
Listen to Andrey Kelins interview in full on Times Radio.
—
Times Radio brings you the latest breaking news, expert analysis and well-informed discussion on the biggest stories of the day, delivered with warmth, expertise and balance.
Subscribe here: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTjDhFuGXlhx9Us0gq0VK2w?sub_confirmation=1
We are the UKs newest digital news radio station, bringing together the peerless journalistic expertise of The Times and The Sunday Times with the world-class speech radio and podcasting experience of Wireless.