Russian Transport Minister Addresses Civil Aviation Security Amid Zelensky's Warnings

MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Russian agencies are working in the closest coordination to prevent threats to air traffic and respond to them in a timely manner, Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin said, commenting on Vladimir Zelensky’s remarks.

He highlighted that the Transport Ministry is constantly strengthening flight and airport security requirements and stands ready to respond to any threat.

TASS has compiled the main details of the situation.

Transport minister’s statements

- Nikitin said that Russia "will not allow significant disruptions" to civil aviation operations: "We are working in close contact with the Defense Ministry and the National Guard. And I think we will not allow any significant disruptions to civil aviation.

- The ministry is constantly strengthening flight and airport safety requirements, "there are responses to all these threats voiced by terrorists," Nikitin stressed.

- He noted that Russian agencies are working "in the closest coordination" to prevent threats to air traffic and "respond in a timely manner" to them.

Russia’s position

- Russian President Vladimir Putin said that threats against civil aviation are "a bid for state terrorism," and stressed that Moscow does not negotiate with terrorists: "I would like to point out that they are asking us to resume talks and are asking for personal meetings. Terrorists are not negotiated with."

- He stressed that Russia would find a way to respond if the Kiev regime’s threats against civil aviation materialize: "If, God forbid, such tragedies occur, we will find a way to respond. Let no one have any doubts about that."

- Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the Kiev regime as a combination of a state apparatus and terrorist methods: "This is a combination of a state apparatus and terrorist methods. And all this is being carried out with money received from abroad, which gives the Kiev regime’s terrorism an international character."

- She said the Kiev regime is afflicted with terrorism to its very core: "The merging of all this with corruption and uncontrolled financial flows coming from the West scale up this threat and make it a threat to the world order. This is not a matter of conflict with one country or another, it is a matter of a threat to the entire world."

Zelensky’s threats

- Vladimir Zelensky earlier issued a "warning" to airlines about the danger of flights over Russia.