Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Wednesday that deploying NATO peacekeeping forces to Ukraine would lead to a direct confrontation between Russian forces and the alliance.
The Russian Foreign Minister commented on Polish President Andrzej Duda’s proposal to propose that NATO send a peacekeeping mission to Ukraine. The plan, which will be presented at an alliance meeting this Thursday, March 24, in Brussels, calls for the deployment of an international peacekeeping contingent of up to 10,000 soldiers from different countries.
“I hope they understand what is at stake, this will be precisely the direct confrontation between the Russian armed forces and NATO, which everyone not only wanted to avoid, but in principle should never take place,” Lavrov said.
The negotiations
On the other hand, the Russian minister pointed out that negotiations between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are progressing with difficulty because Kyiv “constantly changes its position and rejects its own proposals”.
“It’s hard to shake the impression that they [Ucrania] her hand is being held by her American colleagues, who, according to political scientists, both ours and those in the West, simply don’t care about this process [de negociación] ends quickly,” Lavrov said.
“They hope to continue pumping arms into Ukraine,” he said. “Apparently they want to keep us in a fighting state for as long as possible,” he added.
the red lines
The Russian minister specified in his statements that Moscow is not opposed to the mediation of Western countries in the negotiation process with Kyiv, but it is clear about its red lines, which it “has been talking about for many years”, and will not allow them to cross.
Lavrov emphasized that Russia’s position is simple and the approaches to negotiations are very clear. In addition, Russian President Vladimir Putin is in “regular” contact with European heads of state. «[El presidente francés Emmanuel] Macron and [el canciller alemán Olaf] Scholz communicates regularly with Putin. Also the Prime Minister of Israel. We are in touch with the leaders of China and India,” he said.
He also argued that in resolving the conflict in Ukraine, Russia needs “unbreakable” agreements that “must be guaranteed in such a way that nobody will try to violate their obligations.”
In parallel, Russia will ask Kyiv to repeal laws against the Russian language. According to Lavrov, under the mandate of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, all opportunities for this language were “finally eliminated” by law. “Now we will demand that this be cancelled,” he stressed.
The unipolar world
According to Lavrov, the West’s ultimate goal is the rebirth of “a unipolar world,” and he intends to dissuade every country that might compete with it, including Russia and China.
“There is no doubt that one of the rules the West wants to enforce is to contain any competitor. Now it’s Russia, China will be explained next, or all this will happen in parallel. And the goal of this rulesbased world order is none other than the rebirth of a unipolar world.”
Likewise, the foreign minister stated that Ukraine “was chosen as a tool to suppress the independence of Russia. “The goal was to contain Russia as well as any other country that behaves more or less independently on the world stage,” he said.
The Kremlin’s response
For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the deployment of NATO peacekeeping forces in Ukraine was “a imprudent and extremely dangerous decision” that would unleash “consequences difficult to repair.”
“That would be a very reckless and extremely dangerous decision. A special military operation is taking place, and any possible contact between our military and the NATO military could lead to consequences that are quite understandable and difficult to remedy,” Peskov said. (RT News)