West on brink of ‘suicidal venture’ – Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned the West against attempting to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia, calling it “suicidal.” Addressing the UN General Assembly on Saturday, Lavrov urged Ukraine’s Western backers to stop and think about the potential outcome if Russia were forced to use its nuclear deterrent.
According to the Federation of American Scientists, Moscow controls the largest nuclear arsenal in the world, with around 5,500 warheads.
Ukraine is not a nuclear power, but its main Western sponsor, the US, places second with roughly 5,000 confirmed warheads.
“Anglo-Saxon strategists do not hide their plans. Their declared goal is inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia… For now they are counting on defeating Russia with the hands of the illegitimate neo-Nazi Kiev regime, but they are also readying Europe to throw itself into this suicidal venture” Lavrov stated.
I won’t even talk here about the senselessness and dangers of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is.
His warning follows similar statements from Moscow over the past few days amid changes to its nuclear doctrine. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the nation’s Security Council that the plan needed to be amended to include a specific clause in which Russia would be allowed to deploy its nuclear deterrent. For instance, Putin said that the much-debated Western greenlight for Kiev to conduct deep strikes on Russian soil, or an attack on its key ally Belarus, would now trigger an nuclear response, as the strikes would be backed by nuclear powers in NATO.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later explained that Putin’s proposal to update the nuclear doctrine is intended to serve as a warning to Western states about supporting increased Ukrainian aggression.
Lavrov, meanwhile, said that Western moves were also becoming ever more belligerent.
“The unprecedented level of arrogance and aggressiveness of Western policy towards Russia not only negates the idea of ‘global cooperation’ promoted [by the UN], but increasingly jeopardizes the functioning of the entire system of global governance… If the West does not stop, everyone will have to deal with the heavy consequences,” the minister warned.
Lavrov slammed Ukraine’s Western backers for blindly supporting Kiev’s ‘peace formula’ and disregarding alternative proposals aimed at finding a diplomatic solution to the conflict. The plan demands that Moscow withdraw its troops from all territory claimed by Kiev, a prospect Russia has repeatedly slammed as detached from reality. According to Lavrov, by backing the formula, the West is “defending this doomed ultimatum.”
