Lavrov: Kiev is taking orders from Washington

By Al Mayadeen Net
Source: Agencies
3 Mar 2022 14:49
1 Shares

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov weighs in on the current events in Ukraine.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks to the media during a press conference in Moscow, Russia (AP)

In a conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed assurance that there will be a solution to the Ukrainian crisis, noting that Russia's demands are "minimal", asserting that Russia cannot allow Ukraine to threaten Russia's security.

Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will be taking place today, Thursday, as Lavrov said, adding that Russia is ready to negotiate security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe. He further said that Russia will lay out its position in the upcoming round of negotiations, noting that Kiev is taking orders from Washington, failing to act independently.

"Again, the Ukrainian team found some pretext to postpone these negotiations. Surely they are receiving instructions from Washington, there is no doubt about it. This country is absolutely not independent", Lavrov said.

The West, according to Lavrov, Ukraine's security based on the balance of interests with its neighbor, Russia, is not the West's priority - however, the West's interest is to "demonize" Moscow.

Lavrov furthermore expressed certainty that plans to wage war against Russia are being prepared, and that World War III will be a nuclear confrontation.

"But the talk about nuclear war is now underway. I ask you to look very carefully at the statements that were made and at the characters who made these statements. First, Mr Stoltenberg [...] After that, Mr Zelensky began to declare that he would renounce the status of a non-nuclear state. Note the fact that a nuclear war is being constantly waged in the heads of Western politicians, and not in the heads of Russians", Lavrov added.

Hysteria

The hysteria around Ukraine will pass, according to Lavrov, and that Russian-Ukraine dialogue will be relaunched, and Moscow is ready for it.

The world "hears Russia but it's hard to say if it is listening," he said. He believes that most entities understand what he means, but are "forced to abide by harsh dictates."

"I assure you that those countries that banned their companies from working in Russia did so under enormous pressure. They are now saying: we must suffer just to 'teach Russia a lesson'", Lavrov said.

Europe took drastic measures to stop doing business with Severstal, Gazprom, the Russian Central Bank, in addition to consideration to isolate Russia from the SWIFT system.

Assessing Russia's military operation will be "premature" to do so, according to Lavrov, since the operation is still in effect, and the goals have not changed.

The goals are still the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, and to ensure that Ukraine stays out of NATO to maintain Russian security.

Answering a question about Russia's denazification in the country 'despite that Zelensky is Jewish,' Lavrov saif that neo-Nazism is thriving in Ukraine and that it affects both the Russian and the Jewish population, as the neo-Nazis even engage in physical violence.

Russia & NATO

As the Draconian Western-led sanctions on Russia exacerbate the economic crisis worldwide, and as Russian troops gain more ground despite the influx of military aid into Ukraine, exposing US direct involvement in bio-labs spread across Eastern Europe and the insurgence of neo-Nazi groups… How will things unfold?