VIENNA, September 30. /TASS/. European countries are deliberately encouraging the idea of a potential war with Russia among their citizens as something quite normal, Head of the Russian Delegation to the Vienna Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control Yulia Zhdanova said.

The course toward conflict with Russia is now evident in Europe, the diplomat argued. According to her, European authorities "are doing their best to hamper a peace settlement and disrupt potential talks," including by "pumping the Ukrainian regime with money and weapons and helping it target UAVs and missiles at civilians and civilian infrastructure."

"They have been instilling the myth about a Russian threat and the need to prepare for combat, for a war against Russia, in their citizens’ minds. They are pursuing the goal of making a crisis scenario seem routine and normal in the public mind," according to the text of Zhdanova’s speech at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Forum for Security Cooperation seen by TASS.