The US and western nations haven't shown the 'slightest interest' in ending the war, says Lavrov
Not the “slightest interest” has been shown by the US and other western nations in ending the war Lavrov said at his annual briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
“They have not wanted to listen to our concerns,” he said, claiming that the west had instead been “leading towards the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis”. This creates “additional strategic risks and perils” he added.
He asked whether US troops in Afghanistan had yielded any “positive effect”, suggesting that Ukraine could see a “similar fate” as Afghanistan, where US troops were pulled out of in 2021 after 20 years of war, reports Sky News. Lavrov said:
All their reckless undertakings in the military field - did any of them yield any positive effect? Any establishment of democracy that it had been meant for?
Ukraine is in for a similar fate. They rely on their masters, they are not aware their master only thinks of themselves.”
UK-Ukraine security cooperation agreement is a 'half-baked product', says Lavrov
On the topic of the security cooperation agreement recently announced by the UK and Ukraine, Lavrov called it a “half-baked product” containing no “legally binding agreements” aside from a commitment from Kyiv to protect the UK if an invasion is mounted against it, reports Sky News.
It is“somewhat comedic”, said Lavrov, adding that the security cooperation agreement has not changed Russia’s military goals in Ukraine. “This has recently been confirmed by president Putin,” he said. “The goals will be achieved.”
Lavrov was also asked about Russia’s assessment of US strikes on Yemen and its support of Israel. The US and UK “have overstepped and basically trampled into the ground all the norms of international law,” he said. He compared the situation to Libya in 2011 and said no one had been given the authority to bomb Yemen. Lavrov also suggested that US troops were overstaying their welcome in Iraq.
Sky News reports that Lavrov broached the topic of with the UN and the subject of “glorifying nazism”. Last year, Russia put forward a UN resolution it dubbed “combatting glorification of nazism” which a spokesperson for the EU condemned as the “politically motivated misuse of the anti-nazism narrative”.
In a reference to the second world war, Lavrov used the term “Axis countries” to refer to Germany, Italy and Japan during his news conference. He also questioned the “direction” political ideologies are travelling in within those countries, say Sky News.
