The Russian foreign minister sat down for a discussion on a wide range of issues
Moscow is locked in a geopolitical struggle against Washington and the crisis in Ukraine is at the forefront, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The diplomat added that Western nations are not keen for hostilities to end.
Lavrov made the remarks during a wide-ranging interview with Russian state media on Thursday, in which he also accused the US of stripping the EU of any semblance of independence.
Here are some of the key comments from Lavrov’s TV appearance.
Ukraine as epicenter of geopolitical battle “decade of regression,” Lavrov stated, referring to the words of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. “We are in the center of a geopolitical battle. There is no doubt about it,” the foreign minister said. “heroes” whose “deeds are for the future of mankind, in which there will be no conditions for full US hegemony,” added Lavrov.
US belief in its exceptionalism The US “has subjugated” European politicians, taking the “last traces of independence” from the EU, the diplomat argued. The kind of “democracy” they advocate boils down to “a right for them to impose on others what democracy should look like,” Lavrov said. “the pinnacle of pragmatism, but also cynicism.” “infallibility and superiority,” according to Lavrov.
Western intentions in Ukraine The conflict in Ukraine continues to rage because Western nations, led by the US, refuse to stop “until they conclude that they have eliminated threats to their hegemony,” Lavrov insisted. According to the leading Russian diplomat, Kiev has been barred by the West from seeking peace with Moscow.“Nobody objected when [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky prohibited negotiations with Russia by law. Nobody scolded him when he… claimed that he doesn’t understand who makes decisions in Russia and who he should talk to.”
The next ‘anti-Russia’ Lavrov was asked which nation could next be turned into an “anti-Russia” – a term that the Russian leadership has used to describe Ukraine in its current state. The Russian minister said Moldova could be cast in that role due to the personality of its president, Maia Sandu.
“installed at the helm of the country through specific methods that were far from freedom and democracy,” Lavrov assessed. “She has Romanian citizenship, is ready to merge [Moldova] with Romania and to do pretty much anything.” In addition, Sandu is “rushing into NATO,” argued the diplomat.
No help needed in Ukraine Russia did not have and does not have any intention to ask its allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) for military assistance in Ukraine, Lavrov stated, referring to the regional defense group of which Russia is a member. “We have everything we need to achieve the goals of the special military operation, to end this war, which the West started through the Kiev regime after the [2014] coup [in Ukraine],” he stressed.
China’s take on US-designed globalism Lavrov described current Russian-Chinese relations as the strongest ever, adding that they have “no restrictions, no limits, and no issues banned for discussion.” “within the framework of existing norms of international trade.”
“no longer has positive traits,” Lavrov said, adding that “we realized it sooner because we were the first to take a punch.” “less immersion” than China in the US-influenced global financial system and other mechanisms, which Washington now abuses, he explained.