Best Foreign Minister ever. Hope he never proves me wrong in my firm estimation of this giant among men.
This is a "must read" interview. It's long, but you will understand why our planet needs more people like Lavrov and less people like Nikki Haley, Chrystia Freeland, John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, etc.etc.etc.
Lavrov's Interview with Radio Komsomolskava Pravda
Question: Mr Lavrov, we met with you in the same format one and a half year ago.
We began by stating that the foreign
policy situation surrounding Russia at the time was growing alarming.
But you assured us that there would be no war because the Russian
leaders were absolutely against it. Our partners, as you said, were
certainly not interested in it either. Now, one and a half year later,
we can see no improvements. On the contrary, things are growing
increasingly alarming. Some of our listeners even feel scared. Others
compare the current situation with the late 1930s. One of the readers
even asks: “Please be honest and say what we should expect? Will we be
attacked?”
Sergey Lavrov: There
are comparisons that go farther back into history. Both in this country
and elsewhere, there are figures who predict that a situation will arise
resembling that on the eve of World War I. They are referring to the
pent-up antagonisms existing in Europe, including, by the way, in the
Balkans. But it is my strong, firm conviction that the politicians in
the key countries cannot allow a big war to happen. The public opinion
and the nations themselves will not let them. I hope that the
parliaments in each Western country will also display maximal
responsibility.
But I absolutely agree that tensions are
being fomented in an unprecedented way. We see international agreements
collapsing. Not so long ago, the United States unilaterally disrupted
the ABM Treaty. We had to adopt measures that would prevent this
extremely negative event from undermining strategic stability. Next in
line is the INF Treaty, which Washington believes to be outmoded, while
accusing us of violating it. In so doing, they are hinting in no
uncertain terms that they would like to extend the restriction identical
to that assumed by the USSR and the United States to China and a number
of other countries, including North Korea and Iran.
We are categorically against this
initiative. We are in favour of keeping the INF Treaty. The entire
international community has repeatedly recognised it as a cornerstone of
international security and strategic stability. Today at the UN, we
will make a second attempt to submit a General Assembly resolution in
support of preserving this Treaty.
Apart from that, we have presented the
US with our concerns regarding how it implements this Treaty. These
concerns are based on concrete facts and developments in the military
technical sphere, specifically the deployment of a US military base in
Romania and deployment plans for Poland. We hear statements by our US
colleagues that the only way to save the Treaty is to destroy the 9M729
missile, which Russia has allegedly developed with a range exceeding the
limit imposed by the Treaty. In response, Minister of Defence Sergey
Shoigu, following similar steps at the expert level, has officially
suggested that he and US Secretary of Defence James Mattis meet and
start a professional discussion. The US did not even reply or at least
formally acknowledge the receipt of the invitation. Possibly, if they
had done this, they would have had to explain why they are evading a
professional discussion and continue to act in the notorious “highly
likely” style, as though wishing to say that what remains for us is to
repent because we are allegedly to blame for everything.
While we are on this subject, I would
like to say this. I have no doubt that US President Donald Trump was
sincere when he said during his election campaign that he wanted good
relations with the Russian Federation. Regrettably, the consequences of
Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton have caused a tsunami in US
domestic political life, primarily because the so-called system elites
have felt uncomfortable. They saw the current developments as something
that was putting power within reach of ordinary voters. Since then, no
one has ever corroborated with facts the repeated charges of Russian
meddling in the US elections, hacker attacks on the Democratic Party and
other US agencies, etc.
Let me note that this Russophobia, as we are convinced, is to a decisive degree linked to the....
