Sergey Lavrov: For eight years, we've been appealing to the collective conscience of the West while desperately trying to reason with Zelensky's government, which has developed all the hallmarks of an ultraradical, neo-Nazi regime. And the West failed to stop it. Honestly, I don't even think the West was trying to stop it, because to the West, Ukraine has always been a tool to contain Russia – even before 2014. This entire situation has come about because the West refused to recognise that Russia has equal rights in constructing the European security architecture.
This is also supported by the reaction of leading NATO countries – the United States in particular – to the initiatives put forward by President Putin last December. Back then, he talked about the need to act in good faith and honour one's agreements: more specifically, he was referring to the idea that any country, even when it chooses to join a military alliance, must never pursue any policy that would infringe on the security of any other country. That was a commitment approved and signed by the presidents and heads of government of all #OSCE countries, and it is also enshrined in NATO-Russia Council documents.
The West has flat out refused to comply with this principle.
Then we heard President Zelensky say that if Russia continues pushing Ukraine to fulfill some of its obligations, he would consider the option of Ukraine restarting its nuclear weapons program – that was a step too far.
Question: Was that the tipping point?
Sergey Lavrov: No, it has been building up over time. Our patience has its limits, you know. But all the things I've outlined are everyday events, small developments that have convinced us, step by step, that the West has adopted a strategy of using Ukraine to contain Russia. The plan is to create an 'anti-Russia', a belt of hostile states around us.
Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s #interview with Al-Jazeera TV channel, Moscow, March 2, 2022
- Russia Embassy in Singapore FB
Anonymous