The tone is quite offensive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke at an online press conference on Thursday. The opportunity, of course, to discuss the situation in Ukraine, but above all to criticize the West and France.
“Everyone knows that World War III can only be nuclear, but I draw attention to the fact that it is in the minds of Western politicians, not those of the Russians,” he said in a speech. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday that he was putting the Russian military’s nuclear deterrent forces on alert, a decision that sparked waves around the world, with many capitals protesting against this new escalation in the process of invading Ukraine.
He also cited recent statements by his French and British counterparts, Jean-Yves Le Drian and Elizabeth Trus, on nuclear deterrence and the risk of war with Russia. “If some people are working out a real plan for war against us and I think they are working out it, they need to think carefully,” he warned, assuring us that “we will not allow anyone to destabilize us.”
The French vision criticizes
In a press conference, Sergei Lavrov also criticized the Western – and especially French – vision of the conflict. “President Macron spoke and said that Zelensky should not be blamed,” the Russian foreign minister began, without giving further details. “A French journalist (…) who went to Donbass published her observations on the shelling of schools, the murder of two women” – hinted at by the Ukrainian army – and called on Westerners to look into the face. She was not allowed to make her post, but her comment is available on the Internet, “he confirmed, adding:” I invite you to take the facts into account. “
Sergei Lavrov no doubt refers to Anne-Lorne Bonel, a military reporter who explained on CNews this Tuesday that “the Kyiv government is bombing its population” and that since 2014, “Ukraine has bombed and killed thousands of civilians.” the population ”. To prove these allegations, she showed camera photos from her mobile phone showing dead bodies and people in shelters.