Status: 04/26/2022 02:37 am
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov warned of the “real danger” of a world war. At the same time, he accused NATO of waging a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine. This justifies attacks on Western weapons supplies.
Russia views NATO arms shipments to Ukraine as legitimate targets for its country. “It is clear that these weapons will be a legitimate target for Russian forces,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a Russian television interview shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its Telegram channel. Camps, including those in western Ukraine, have become such targets more than once.
“How could it be otherwise,” Lavrov continued. “If NATO actually goes to war with Russia through a proxy and arms that proxy, then you do in war what you have to do in war.”
More and more NATO countries have recently announced that they will also directly supply heavy weapons to Ukraine’s fight against Russian attackers. Heavy weapons are main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers, heavy artillery, warships, fighter planes and helicopters, and larger, heavily armored vehicles.
“Real danger” of a third world war
In the interview, Lavrov also warned of the danger of a third world war. “The danger is serious, it’s real, it shouldn’t be underestimated,” he said.
Asked about a comparison of the current situation with the time of the Cuban missile crisis, Lavrov said that “at that time there were only a few rules, written rules”. But the “rules of conduct” were quite clear – in Moscow it was clear how Washington was behaving, and Washington was clear how Moscow was behaving.
Even today there are few rules, Lavrov said, referring to the New Start nuclear disarmament treaty. But “at the same time, all other weapons control and non-proliferation instruments are practically destroyed.” During the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, there was also a channel of communication trusted by the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. Today there is no such channel and no one is trying to create it.
Again accusations against Zelenskyy
On the peace talks with Ukraine, Lavrov said that Russia will continue the negotiations, but at the same time he stressed that “goodwill has its limits”. If it is not based on “reciprocity”, “it does not help the negotiation process”. Lavrov accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of only “faking” his willingness to negotiate.
Referring to a possible agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, Lavrov said the “structure” of such an agreement would depend on the “status of the fighting” that will take place when the “agreement becomes a reality”.
US believes Ukrainian victory possible
The US government believes that a Ukrainian victory in the two-month war is possible. “They can win if they have the right equipment and the right support,” US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after a visit to Kiev.
Today he wants to speak to defense ministers and military chiefs of 40 allied countries at the US military base in Ramstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, about further arms deliveries to Ukraine. Austin expressed the expectation that “many countries” would promise Ukraine “additional ammunition and howitzers”.