Russia’s Medvedev: We Don’t Want Direct Conflict with NATO

Deputy head of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev listens during an interview with Russian media at a residence outside Moscow, Russia, March 23, 2023. (Reuters)

Russian ex-President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Russia was not planning to enter into a direct conflict with NATO and was interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis through talks, the Interfax news agency reported.

However, he warned that any Ukrainian attempt to take the Crimean peninsula - which Moscow annexed in 2014 - would be grounds for Russia to use "absolutely any weapon" against Kyiv in response.

He also said Russian forces may have to advance as far as Kyiv or Lviv in Ukraine

"Nothing can be ruled out here. If you need to get to Kyiv, then you need to go to Kyiv, if to Lviv, then you need to go to Lviv in order to destroy this infection," RIA Novosti quoted Medvedev as saying.