US, NATO directly involved in Ukraine war: Russia’s Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of becoming directly involved in the Ukraine war by supplying the country with weapons and training its soldiers.
“You shouldn’t say that the US and NATO aren’t taking part in this war. You are directly participating in it,” Lavrov said during a press briefing on Thursday. “And not just by providing weapons but also by training personnel. You are training their military on your territory, on the territories of Britain, Germany, Italy and other countries.”
Lavrov accused the US and its NATO allies of trampling on international law while trying to isolate and destroy Russia. He said the ongoing Russian strikes were intended to weaken Ukraine’s military potential and derail the shipments of Western weapons.
The foreign minister said Russian attacks were intended to “knock out energy facilities that allow you to keep pumping deadly weapons into Ukraine in order to kill the Russians.” Lavrov said Moscow remains open for talks on ending the conflict.
“We never asked for talks but always said that we are ready to listen to those who are interested in a negotiated settlement.”
Commenting on Russia’s decision to postpone a round of nuclear arms control talks with the United States that was scheduled for this week, Lavrov said, “It’s impossible to discuss strategic stability nowadays while ignoring everything that is happening in Ukraine.”
“The goal has been announced to defeat Russia on the battlefield or even destroy Russia,” he said. “How can the goal of defeating Russia not bear significance for strategic stability, considering that they want to destroy a key strategic stability actor?”
“The infrastructure that is targeted by those attacks is used to ensure the combat potential of the Ukrainian armed forces and the nationalist battalions,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov also accused the West of missing the chance to make the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) a real bridge with Russia after the Cold War.
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