Sergei Lavrov admitted that the project for an economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok, conceived after the end of the Cold War, failed.
“The West can no longer enjoy our confidence, neither in the field of security nor in other areas, which have become elements of blackmail. There was perspective for the inhabitants of these countries,” the Russian foreign minister said in an interview with RTP.
The Russian ruler accuses the European Union and NATO of being on the same page. “They say the same thing: we cannot admit that Ukraine will lose. The only way out is through the strategic defeat of Russia,” he insisted, referring to rulers of countries such as the United Kingdom and France who have already issued nuclear threats. Lavrov also accused former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President François Hollande of not intending to honor the agreements with Vladimir Putin.
More specifically on the war in Ukraine, Lavrov said the “special military operation was an absolutely fair and unimpeded step to” defend Russia’s security, as the “Kiev regime tried to deprive people of their language, their religion and their culture” . “It was our way of responding,” he explained, not believing that the war can be resolved with dialogue between Vladimir Putin and Joe Biden.
“Biden has shown no interest. We know that Zelensky is an actor who does not have the slightest autonomy. He is told what to do. Along that line, he improvises depending on the state of affairs,” he added, criticizing on the peace solution proposed by the Ukrainian president.
Lavrov says Russia is fighting to “prevent the extermination of the peoples inhabiting Donbass and southern Ukraine” and that the “West looks frivolously at Russophobia”, so there is no talk of a peace deal with exchange of territories. “We are not fighting for territories, but for our history, our religion and the Russian language, which is being torn down not only in Ukraine but also in the Baltic countries. Can anyone imagine Switzerland one day banning French and German? Or Ireland to Ban English? In Ukraine, ethnic Russians made up at least 20% of the population. But Zelensky is complying with orders to eliminate all references to Russian civilization,” he continued, accusing Ukraine of organizing mass killings in several cities.
The minister also said that “the multipolar world is being formed objectively” and countries like “China, India and Brazil are examples of this”, as well as “Turkey, Indonesia and some African countries that intend to benefit from the resources that God has given to that continent”. “This process is also reflected in the statistics. The GDP of the G7 is already lower than that of the BRICS countries. China has already achieved leadership in several development parameters and the tendency is to become unstoppable,” he added.
Lavroc also assured that Russia is not isolated or breaking off relations with the West. “We do not close or break relations with the West. We do not close doors to the West, the West has tried to close doors on us. Our contacts are kept to a minimum. Our economic development plan is based on sovereignty and autonomy of the Russian Federation “, he said.
Source: DN
