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☆ Russia can't reach a pro-Russian region in Moldova easily — but there are ways it can cause trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-05 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Mikhail Svetlov/Getty ImagesMoscow is continuing its saber-rattling over the pro-Russian region of Transnistria in Moldova, and analysts are saying that while Russian authorities would find it hard to physically reach the breakaway region to annex it, there are still ways it can stir up pro-Russian unrest — and trouble for Moldova. All U.N. members consider the region to be part of Moldova, which has expressed a desire to reintegrate the region. Similarly to Ukraine, Moldova has a pro-Western government and wants to join the European Union. Problematically for Russia, Moldova and Transnistria are landlocked, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. CNBC has asked the Kremlin to comment on concerns that Moscow could look to destabilize Moldova and is awaiting a response.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Svetlov, Russia, Problematically, it's, Ian Bremmer, doesn't, Maia Sandu, Putin, Sergei Lavrov, Abdoulaye Diop, Maxim Shipenkov, Lavrov, Bogdan Tudor Organizations: Getty, Moldovan, Kremlin, Russia's Defense Ministry, European Union, Eurasia Group, Gazprom, Western, CNBC, Foreign Affairs, Cooperation of, Reuters, Russian, West, RIA Novosti, Google, Russian Federation, Institute for, EU, Afp Locations: Kremlin, Moscow, Russian, Transnistria, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Moldovan, Romania, Cooperation of Mali, Reuters Russia, Central Asia, USSR, Sochi, Donetsk, Luhansk, South Ossetia, Abkhazia, Georgia

stressing that the war could end tomorrow if Moscow withdrew hundreds of thousands of troops in Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory. Russia called the council meeting to again sharply criticize Western military aid to Ukraine. Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya who read a joint statement underscoring Russia’s “hypocrisy” in criticizing lawful arms transfers to help Ukraine defend itself. But the Chinese ambassador criticized Ukraine for seeking to join NATO and warned Kyiv, without naming Russia, that this would deepen Moscow’s security concerns. “The negative impacts of the Ukraine crisis and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have added snow to the icy cold global economy,” Zhang said.

Persons: —, Sergey Lavrov, ”, Robert Wood, Lavrov's, Vladimir Putin, that's, ” Wood, Sergiy Kyslytsya, underscoring, Ukraine’s, “, U.N, Zhang Jun, ” Zhang, Zhang, Lavrov, Wood, Malta's, Vanessa Frazier, ” Frazier Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Kyiv, . Security Council, North Korea —, NATO, Russia, Palestinian Locations: United States, Moscow, China, Russia’s, Russia, Ukraine, Washington, London, Paris, Brussels, Ukraine’s, Iran, North Korea, Belarus, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, U.S

☆ Russia accuses Bulgaria of malice over diplomatic overflight ban
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

MOSCOW, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Russia accused Bulgaria of malice and stupidity on Thursday for refusing to allow Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's plane to fly through its airspace. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who is under European Union sanctions, said her presence on board the plane was the reason given by Bulgaria's foreign ministry for denying access to its airspace. Zakharova suggested that Russia could apply similar overflight bans to "thousands of NATO functionaries", and accused Bulgaria of creating "a dangerous precedent". Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania declared a boycott of the meeting in Skopje in protest of the Russian delegation's presence. Athens took all the steps required before allowing the overflight, the official added.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov's, Lavrov, Dmitry Peskov, Maria Zakharova, Zakharova, Felix Light, Mark Trevelyan, Kevin Liffey, Bernadette Baum Organizations: Organisation for Security, Cooperation, Kremlin, Russian Foreign Ministry, European Union, Bulgarian, Thomson Locations: MOSCOW, Russia, Bulgaria, Greece, Europe, Skopje, North Macedonia, Russian, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Athens

☆ Russia says it has got lots of requests for meetings with Lavrov at OSCE meeting
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a joint press conference with Venezuela's Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto in Moscow, Russia, November 16, 2023. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMOSCOW, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Russia's foreign ministry said on Wednesday it had received a lot of requests for one-on-one meetings with Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's top diplomat, on the sidelines of an OSCE meeting in North Macedonia. "I can confirm that there are a lot of requests for bilateral meetings," Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told reporters. "There will be multilateral meetings in multilateral formats, and bilateral meetings are planned as well," she said. She said that the foreign ministry will provide details on Lavrov's schedule in Skopje later.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, Yvan Gil Pinto, Alexander Zemlianichenko, Sergei Lavrov, Lavrov, Maria Zakharova, Lavrov's, Dmitry Antonov, Guy Faulconbridge, Andrew Osborn Organizations: Russian, Venezuela's, Rights, OSCE, Organization for Security, Cooperation, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Moscow's, North Macedonia, Europe, Skopje, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania

☆ A teenager who fled Russia-occupied Ukraine sent a police officer who was trying to find him a mocking selfie to show he made it to Kyiv
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The Post reported that the boy then sent a police officer a selfie from Kyiv, to prove he'd escaped. AdvertisementA teenager who escaped from Russia-occupied Ukraine sent a jeering selfie to a police officer who was looking for him to show that he'd made it to Kyiv, The Washington Post reported. He is one of the many children that Ukraine and its allies, including the US, have accused Russia of forcibly deporting. AdvertisementUkraine said it has identified almost 20,000 Ukrainian children that Russia has deported. Lavrov's testimony could be helpful in Ukraine's efforts to seek justice for children taken by Russia, the Post reported.

Persons: he'd, —, Rostyslav Lavrov, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin Organizations: Washington Post, Service, The Washington Post, Russian, Police, EU, Russia, US State Department Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Crimea, Kyiv, Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine's Kherson, Kherson city, Maidan Square, Belarus

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that he plans to travel to North Macedonia later this week to attend a conference, a trip that would mark his first visit to a NATO member country since Moscow sent troops to Ukraine. North Macedonia, which holds the group's rotating chairmanship, last week invited Lavrov to an OSCE meeting that starts Thursday in Skopje, the capital of the small, landlocked Balkan country. NATO members banned Russian flights after Moscow launched its military action in Ukraine in February 2022. To reach North Macedonia, Lavrov's plane would need to fly through the airspace of Bulgaria or Greece, which also belong to the Western military alliance. Speaking at a foreign policy conference in Moscow on Monday, Lavrov said Bulgaria apparently has given permission for an overflight.

Persons: Sergey Lavrov, Lavrov, ”, “, “ They’ve Organizations: MOSCOW, NATO, Organization for Security, Cooperation, OSCE, Moscow Locations: Russian, North Macedonia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Skopje, Balkan, Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, “, Soviet Union, U.S, Israel, Ukrainian, rearm

☆ Russia is turning increasingly hostile toward Israel as it picks sides in the Middle East
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JANUARY 23: Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) attend their meeting at Prime Minister's Office on January 23, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi greets Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 19, 2022. Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during a meeting in Sochi on November 20, 2017. Russian President Vladimir Putin prepares to greet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting on Jan. 23, 2020, in Jerusalem. Russia's President Vladimir Putin with senior Saudi officials in 2014.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, Benjamin Netanyahu, Mikhail Svetlov, Russia's, Petroleum Javad, Putin, Erdogan, Ebrahim Raisi, John Drennan, Sergei Savostyanov, Mark Galeotti, Israel, Israel Russia's, Sergei Lavrov, Bashar al, Assad, UN Vasily Nebenzya, Tatiana Stanovaya, Stanovaya, Rob Griffith Organizations: Israeli, Minister's Office, Getty, Israel's, Petroleum, Turkish, Israel, U.S . Institute of Peace, AFP, Ministry, Russian Foreign Affairs, Russian, UN, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Kremlin, America, Saudi, Afp Locations: JERUSALEM, ISRAEL, Jerusalem, Israel, Russia, Gaza, East, Tehran, Iran, Ukraine, Syria, Moscow, Saudi Arabia, Saudi, Arabia, Sochi, Tel Aviv

☆ Biden makes case for 'urgent' military aid to Ukraine; North Korea's Kim says Russia agreements will be 'faithfully' fulfilled
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

U.S. President Joe Biden said he would be sending an "urgent" funding request to Congress on Friday for military aid to support both Ukraine and Israel in their respective war efforts. Biden late on Thursday made a rare White House speech in which he claimed both Hamas and Russia "want to annihilate a neighboring democracy," and vowed to send an "urgent" request to Congress for additional funding to both Ukraine and Israel to aid their respective military efforts. The White House said Tuesday that it had supplied Kyiv with long-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that his forces had used them in action. Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has resolved to "faithfully implement" agreements made with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a summit last month, state media KCNA reported Friday. Lavrov's trip to Pyongyang comes hot on the heels of Putin's visit to China this week, during which the Russian president said Washington's decision to supply ATACMS missiles to Ukraine was "a mistake."

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Zelenskyy, Kim Jong Un, Vladimir Putin, KCNA, Kim, Sergei Lavrov, Washington's Organizations: Ukraine, Oval, White, Army Tactical Missile Systems, Biden, Russian, DPRK Locations: Israel, Gaza, Russia, Washington , U.S, Ukraine, Pyongyang, China

☆ Russia's Lavrov to arrive in North Korea as cooperation deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Josh Smith | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a news conference following talks with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit in Moscow, Russia, October 9, 2023. Sergei Ilnitsky/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to arrive in Pyongyang on Wednesday for meetings seen as setting the stage for a visit by President Vladimir Putin, who has stepped up cooperation with politically isolated North Korea. Russia's TASS news agency reported that Lavrov may brief the North Koreans on the results of Putin's visit to China, as well as discuss the standing invitation to visit Pyongyang. U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim on Tuesday called relations between North Korea and Russia "worrying," after the White House said last week Pyongyang recently provided Russia with weapons. The two ships had moved several hundred containers to and from a port in North Korea since August, the RUSI report said.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Sergei Ilnitsky, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, Putin, Lavrov, North Korea Sung Kim, Dmitry Peskov, Josh Smith, Lidia Kelly, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Russian, Arab League, Rights, North, Russia's TASS, Special, U.S, Kremlin, Royal United Services Institute, United Nations, Thomson Locations: Moscow, Russia, Rights SEOUL, Pyongyang, North Korea, Ukraine, Koreans, China, U.S, Korean, Melbourne

☆ Russian foreign minister thanks North Korea for supporting its war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov takes part in a welcoming ceremony upon his arrival in Pyongyang, North Korea, October 18, 2023. Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSEOUL, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for supporting the country's war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow's "complete support and solidarity" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia's foreign ministry said. North Korean state media said Lavrov's visit will mark a "significant occasion" in further consolidating relations between the countries. Photos released by the Russian foreign ministry showed Lavrov greeted by people holding flowers and flags of the two countries upon arrival in North Korea. The White House last week said North Korea recently provided Russia with a shipment of weapons in what it called a troubling development.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's, Kim Jong Un, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Soo, hyang Choi, Jack Kim, Sandra Maler, Ed Davies Organizations: Russian, Russian Foreign Ministry, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, North, Russian Federation, Democratic People's, Russia's TASS, Thomson Locations: Pyongyang, North Korea, Rights SEOUL, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korean, Russia, Koreans, China

☆ Russian Foreign Minister Thanks North Korea for Supporting Its War in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

SEOUL (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for supporting the country's war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow's "complete support and solidarity" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia's foreign ministry said. North Korean state media said Lavrov's visit will mark a "significant occasion" in further consolidating relations between the countries. Photos released by the Russian foreign ministry showed Lavrov greeted by people holding flowers and flags of the two countries upon arrival in North Korea. Lavrov's two-day visit comes a month after North Korean leader Kim made a rare trip to Russia, during which he invited Putin to Pyongyang and discussed military cooperation. Russia's TASS news agency earlier said Lavrov may also brief North Koreans on the results of Putin's visit to China.

Persons: Sergei Lavrov, Moscow's, Kim Jong Un, Lavrov, Vladimir Putin, Kim, Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Soo, hyang Choi, Jack Kim, Sandra Maler, Ed Davies Organizations: Russian, North, Russian Federation, Democratic People's, Russia's TASS Locations: SEOUL, North Korea, Ukraine, Pyongyang, Moscow, Russian, DPRK, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korean, Russia, Koreans, China

☆ Russia is egging Southeast Asian countries to ditch the dollar to get around Western sanctions — and it shows just how desperately it wants to save its flagging economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's foreign minister urged Southeast Asian countries to trade with Russia using local currencies. urged Southeast Asian countries to trade with Russia using local currencies. Even President Vladimir Putin championed the use of local currencies for trade in recent weeks. Russia's trade with Southeast Asia fell 4.4% in 2022 amid sweeping sanctions against Moscow. Russia's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — a 10-country intergovernmental bloc — fell by 4.4% in 2022 from a year ago.

Persons: Vladimir Putin, it's, Sergey Lavrov, Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Steven Tian, Phil Rosen, Lavrov, Kompas Organizations: Moscow, Service, Association of Southeast, Yale, Russia, Bank of International Locations: Russia, Southeast Asia, Wall, Silicon, Moscow, Indonesia, Nations, Ukraine, Russian, Indonesian, Europe

☆ Russia's claim that Ukraine could get nuclear-capable F-16s is baseless fearmongering, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Sinéad Baker | Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia made the bizarre claim that F-16s being given to Ukraine could be fitted with nuclear weapons. Ukraine has no nuclear weapons, and the F-16s it may get won't have that capacity anyway, he said. While F-16 jets can be made to carry nuclear weapons, Ukraine does not have any nuclear weapons in its arsenal. And none of Ukraine's allies who have given it weapons and military training since Russia's invasion in February 2022 have suggested they will give Ukraine nuclear weapons. Kristensen added: "There's no way at all that any nuclear state in the West would give nuclear weapons, or nuclear weapons capability, to Ukraine.

Persons: —, Sergei Lavrov, Ukraine's, John Kirby, Joe Biden, Kirby, Lavrov, Hans Kristensen, Kristensen, that's, It's, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Medvedev Organizations: Service, US, Reuters, Federation of American Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Belarus, Europe

☆ Russia's foreign minister joins Tucker Carlson's Kremlin fanbase, blasting the TV host's ousting as an offense to freedom of speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Matthew Loh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke out in support of the now-ousted Tucker Carlson. He cited Carlson leaving Fox News as an example of poor press standards in the US. "I heard that Tucker Carlson has left Fox News. Lavrov's comments about Carlson were brief, but he isn't alone in the Kremlin's praise for the right-wing TV figure. Fox News announced that it parted ways with Tucker Carlson on Monday without specifying why the host was ousted.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Questions being asked over Ukraine's much-awaited counteroffensive; Russia's top diplomat is in Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that "the United States can cheat at any moment," claiming Russia had experienced this when the Western military alliance NATO expanded eastward. Lavrov claimed this deception was seen when former Soviet and Russian Federation Presidents Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin "were assured that NATO would not expand," he added. Russia has long complained that it was deceived by Western nations at the end of the Cold War and into the 1990s into believing that NATO would not expand eastward toward its territory. Analysts say, however, that the USSR was never offered any formal guarantee on limits to NATO expansion and that the "betrayal narrative" is designed to provoke anti-Western sentiment. So we will share it with our Venezuelan colleagues," Lavrov said.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Putin says NATO nuclear capability must be minded; Russia's top diplomat says future world order is being decided
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Speaking at a conference of regional representatives of his ministry on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "at the moment, the configuration of the future world order is being decided." The future world order is being decided right now, Russia's foreign minister said Monday, adding that Moscow has frustrated the West's plans "to isolate, and even dismember" the country. Speaking at a conference of regional representatives of his ministry on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that "at the moment, the configuration of the future world order is being decided." We now call it the world majority," he said in comments translated by Google. Lavrov's comments parrot similar remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday in which he said the West wants to defeat and divide Russia.

☆ Russian state energy giant Gazprom is starting its own private security force, a move Ukraine fears will lead to a new Wagner-like mercenary army
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russia's government is allowing energy giant Gazprom to start a private security outfit. Ukraine's Ministry of Defence drew comparisons with the notorious private army the Wagner Group. Experts said it's plausible that another Russian mercenary army is in the works. Russia's government gave its go-ahead for the energy giant to create a private security organization on February 4, under the pretext of securing the country's energy sector. "Ukrainians are handling Wagner, they are handling the Russian army."

☆ Mali says Russia's Lavrov to visit to strengthen defence ties
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BAMAKO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to Mali this week, the Malian foreign ministry said on Sunday, describing the visit as a reflection of a shared wish to strengthen defence and security ties. "This high-level visit is in line with the political choice made by the Transitional Government to expand and diversify strategic partnerships," the Malian ministry said in a statement. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin told Mali that Moscow was committed to strengthening cooperation to help root out the militants. Mali has previously said Russian forces in the country are not mercenaries but trainers helping local troops with equipment bought from Russia. Lavrov is currently in Baghdad for talks on improving bilateral ties and energy cooperation.

☆ Lavrov shores up Eritrean support for Russia over Ukraine conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Duncan Miriri | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NAIROBI, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki on Thursday on a tour of Africa to shore up support for Russia, focusing on the "dynamics of the war in Ukraine", Eritrea's information minister said. "We are thankful to Eritrean friends for their consistent support of Russian initiatives in the UN," Lavrov was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS. The talks in Eritrea also explored ways of enhancing ties in energy, mining, information technology, education and health, Information Minister Yemane Meskel said on Twitter late on Thursday. "The sad fact is that Ukraine is both a pretext and victim of this policy," Osman said during the speech delivered in Massawa. There was no mention of the conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, where Eritrean troops fought alongside their Ethiopian federal counterparts against rebellious Tigrayan forces.

☆ Russia's Lavrov visits ally South Africa amid Western rivalry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Carien Duplessis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/2] South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, ahead of their bilateral meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023. Lavrov met his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, after flying in earlier in the day on a trip some South African opposition parties and the small Ukrainian community have condemned as insensitive. President Cyril Ramaphosa's government regards South Africa as neutral in the Ukraine conflict and has expressed a desire to mediate. The South African armed forces said last week the exercise is a "means to strengthen the already flourishing relations between South Africa, Russia and China". There was no official public comment from the Ukrainian embassy but officials said it had asked the South African government to help push President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's 10-point peace plan, which he proposed to the G20 in November.

☆ White House calls Lavrov's Holocaust comparison 'truly offensive'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The White House on Wednesday called Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statement comparing the United States' assembly of a coalition to take on Russia to Adolf Hitler's actions to eradicate Jews in Europe "truly offensive." "It's almost so absurd that it's not worth responding to, other than the truly offensive manner in which he tried to cast us in terms of Hitler and the Holocaust," White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Reporting by Jarrett Renshaw and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia's Lavrov: West and Ukraine want to destroy Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 27 (Reuters) - The United States and its NATO allies together with Ukraine want to defeat Russia "on the battlefield" in order to destroy it, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the state TASS agency in remarks published Monday. President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, calling it a "special operation" to "denazify" and demilitarise Ukraine, which he said was a threat to Russia. Like most senior Russian officials, Lavrov has over the last decade adopted an increasingly hawkish position, supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine and railing against what he and Putin have called the West's attempts to constrain Russia and dominate global affairs. Lavrov reiterated that Russia and the United States cannot maintain normal connection, blaming the administration of the U.S. President Joe Biden. The United States has provided billions of dollar in support to Ukraine, with the latest $1.85 billion aid package announced last week, further angering Moscow.

☆ Russia's Lavrov needles Biden over Cuban missile crisis and Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin's foreign minister on Sunday needled Joe Biden over Ukraine, saying that he hoped the U.S. president had the wisdom to deal with a global confrontation similar to the 1962 Cuban missile crisis. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cuban crisis when the Soviet Union and United States came close to nuclear war. In an interview for a Russian state television documentary on the missile crisis, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said there were similarities to 1962, largely because Russia was now threatened by Western weapons in Ukraine. "I hope that in today's situation, President Joe Biden will have more opportunities to understand who gives orders and how," Lavrov said. Asked what Russia should do now in the current crisis, Lavrov said: "The readiness of Russia, including President Vladimir Putin, for negotiations remains unchanged."

Russia on Friday launched referendums in four eastern ukrainian regions aimed at annexing territory it has taken by force. Asked if Russia would have grounds for using nuclear weapons to defend annexed regions of Ukraine, Lavrov said Russian territory, including territory "further enshrined" in Russia's constitution in the future, "is under the full protection of the state." Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Lavrov's comments, and Putin's earlier statement when he said he was not bluffing about using nuclear weapons, were "irresponsible" and "absolutely unacceptable." The likely annexation of Ukrainian territory raises the question of how Russia might respond to the use of Western weapons in those regions. Lavrov sought to portray opposition to Russia's war in Ukraine as limited to Washington and countries under its influence.

☆ Kremlin's mention of possible use of nuclear weapons 'absolutely unacceptable,' Ukraine's foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba speaks during a high level meeting of the United Nations Security Council on the situation amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 22, 2022. REUTERS/Amr AlfikySept 25 (Reuters) - The Kremlin's statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are "absolutely unacceptable" and Kyiv will not give into it, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said early on Sunday. Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, have mentioned nuclear weapons as an option in extremis. read more"Putin's and Lavrov's irresponsible statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are absolutely unacceptable," Kuleba wrote on Twitter. We call on all nuclear powers to speak out now and make it clear to Russia that such rhetorics put the world at risk and will not be tolerated."

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