If the west wants to fight for Ukraine on the battlefield, Russia is prepared for it, acting Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying by the state-run RIA new agency on Monday.
The Kremlin said last week that sending NATO troops into Ukraine would potentially be extremely dangerous, and that Moscow was closely watching a Ukrainian petition calling for such an intervention.
(Note: Lavrov is referred-to as "Acting" Foreign Minister because, under Russian Law, all high-ranking Presidential appointees must tender their resignation upon the Inauguration of a President. Vladimir Putin was Inaugurated last week to his fifth term as President of the Russian Federation, and until Putin officially renames Lavrov as Foreign Minister, he is "acting" Foreign Minister.)
