NATO expansion fueled surge in neo-Nazism – Lavrov
The West is willing to ignore Ukraine’s obvious support for neo-Nazi ideology because it serves its purposes in the stand-off with Russia, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said.
In an interview with the educational project ‘No Expiration Date’ published on Saturday, Lavrov stressed that Russia attaches great importance to preserving its historical memory and legacy, arguing that it remains one of “the guardrails of our sovereignty.” He expressed outrage that Ukraine, along with several other nations, was trying to “rewrite history.”
Those countries, Lavrov said, seek “to equate those who defeated Nazism with the Nazi hordes themselves,” saying that Ukraine had become an especially notorious example in this regard.
However, the resurgence of Nazi ideology in Europe started long ago, after the Baltic countries joined the EU and NATO in the early 2000s, Lavrov continued. He recalled that when Russia expressed concerns about the pace of integration, the West gave Moscow assurances that the Baltic states would become less “Russophobic” after joining the two blocs. However, the opposite happened, with support for Nazi ideology becoming more apparent in the region, the minister said.
“Soon after they were accepted into the ‘civilized’ European family, demonstrations and torchlight processions kicked off in honor of the Waffen SS Nazis,” Lavrov remarked.
Meanwhile, the West and the US turned a blind eye to Ukraine’s crackdown on Russian culture and the flourishing of neo-Nazi ideology in the ex-Soviet republic, the minister noted. “Duplicity and acquiescence... [and a desire to] forgive anything, including an open push to introduce Nazi theory and practice, have become common only because the West and the United States feel comfortable having [Ukraine] as a tool in the fight against Russia,” he stated.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow’s key goals in the Ukraine conflict are the “denazification” and “demilitarization” of Ukraine. Another key objective is Ukraine’s neutrality, which implies abandoning its aspirations to join NATO. Russia views the expansion of the US-led military bloc towards its borders as an existential threat.
