MOSCOW, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Russia cannot co-exist with the current "regime" in Kyiv but Moscow can resist the might of NATO for as long as it needs to fully demilitarise Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday.
Including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, Russia now controls 17.5% of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory.
"The current regime (in Kyiv) is absolutely toxic, we do not see any options for co-existence with it at the moment," Russian Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik told reporters in Moscow.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, a charge that Moscow denies.
"We can resist NATO just as much as we need to fulfill the tasks that the president has formulated."
Persons:
Vladimir Putin, Miroshnik, Putin, Dmitry Antonov, Guy Faulconbridge, Gareth Jones
Organizations:
NATO, Russian, Kremlin, China, Thomson
Locations:
MOSCOW, Russia, Kyiv, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Crimea, U.S, Ukrainian, United States, NATO