Ok i guess the interview is real but what i said earlier still stands
The reason he says "i didnt write it as yuri" is because he didnt want to have people misinterpreting it as just simple romance!! in the "just get married" way
ryukishis goal was to show a bond so deep and complex that a single word like "romance" wouldnt be able to define it. he isnt saying its LESS than romance hes saying it its more complex than just romance!! he says that while he was writing it he didnt use the "yuri" label because it would be limiting for him. then right after he says that if you interpret their bond as yuri, then you can do so, he is leaving it up for interpretation. he says that seeing it as yuri is a valid way to interpret it!!
and he never says they are just friends either in fact he calls it "an intimacy that transcends gender"
and besides look at the story he wrote afterwards entirely on his own. they were about to kiss at the end.