“We have no interest whatsoever in attacking Europe. But if Europe, which talks daily about preparing for war against Russia, were to attack the Russian Federation, that would be an entirely different war, and it would be a very short one.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said this on Wednesday in Ekaterinburg, speaking at the International Festival of Youth.
He gave no sign of what such a war would involve. The warning came inside a long lecture on the new global architecture, delivered at the Znanie.Pervye educational marathon.
Ukraine and the West
Lavrov said the West had “made a choice long ago in favor of containing Russia,” pointing to what he called NATO’s forceful expansion toward Russian borders. He called the war in Ukraine a direct consequence of that expansion and of a legislative ban on the Russian language, and described the government in Kyiv as “a Nazi regime.” He said the goals of the military operation were to remove the root causes of the crisis and protect Russians’ rights to their language and Orthodox faith.
He also criticised European leaders who say Europe must prepare for war with Russia, saying the theme had come to dominate politics in Brussels. Deploying Western military contingents in Ukraine, he warned, would amount to a declaration of war on Russia.
On talks, Lavrov said Moscow was ready to discuss a settlement and would wait for proposals to resume them, though Russia was not very hopeful. Any venue could be considered, Serbia included, provided all participants accepted it. He added that Russia would not return to the close relations with Europe of the post-Soviet years, and would not sign agreements with European countries on matters affecting its security.
Washington and the vote
On the United States, Lavrov said the Trump administration had entered dialogue and understood the root causes of the Ukraine conflict better than European elites. But he saw no material change so far, and cited extended and new sanctions, unreturned diplomatic property and continuing visa refusals. “Dialogue is overdue,” he said, “but a full discussion of strategic stability requires the complete normalization of relations.” He also said Russia was checking information about a possible deployment of US weapons in space.
Russia holds parliamentary elections on September 18 to 20. Lavrov said the West was making particularly strong attempts to interfere, and that voters were choosing under what he called a war declared on Russia by the collective West.
A multipolar world
Much of the speech turned to what he called the defining trend of the era, multipolarity. He said the gap in economic weight between BRICS countries and the G7 would keep widening, and accused the West of clinging to slipping supremacy through sanctions and pressure after 500 years of dominance. Russia, he said, was being forced toward new forms of cooperation: “We are not the ones who undermined the dollar’s role.” Proposals for alternative payment platforms, a reinsurance mechanism and a grain exchange were discussed at the BRICS summit in New Delhi.
He closed with the festival itself, which brings together 10,000 young leaders from 191 countries. About 400,000 foreign citizens, he said, are currently studying in Russia.
Sources
- Lavrov warns of “very short” war if Europe attacks Russia during Ekaterinburg address
- If Europe attacks Russia, war will be 'completely different, very short': Lavrov
