MOSCOW, Mar 5 (THE AFRICAN PORTAL) – The West’s war against Russia is no longer hybrid, but direct and “hot,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at an embassy round table on the settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.
He also said the North Atlantic Alliance is being drawn into the war that the US and Israel have unleashed against Iran.
TASS has compiled the key statements made by the foreign minister.
The West’s war against Russia
The West wanted Russia to collapse when it unleashed a conflict against it through Ukraine: “The goal of the war against Russia that was prepared and ultimately unleashed by the West through the Ukrainian regime is to weaken, as they themselves say, to inflict a strategic defeat on our country. And there is every reason to believe that behind this lies, you know, the utmost desire to destroy our country.”
The West prepared Ukraine to become anti-Russia: “And it became the spearhead of the West’s hybrid war, but recently it has become not only a hybrid war, but a direct, ‘hot’ war by the West against the Russian Federation.”
The EU has already “outstripped” NATO in its policy against Russia: “And in its determination to militarize and sharpen its weapons against our country, it is no less persistent than the North Atlantic Alliance.”
Even now, when the special operation has proven that the West’s plans to defeat Russia will not come to fruition, “the stubborn Europeans in Brussels, London, Paris, and Berlin insist that NATO’s doors must remain open.”
Ukrainian settlement
Russia sees no reason to suspect that the negotiations on the Ukrainian settlement with the participation of the US are a “smokescreen”: “We currently see no reason to suspect that these negotiations are also a ‘smokescreen’.”
The “spirit” was not the main thing at the summit in Anchorage; the main achievement was clear understandings: “We know how our Western colleagues are able of creating an atmosphere, a spirit. But the spirit evaporates. And most importantly, in Anchorage, a clear understanding was reached on the basis of the proposals made by President [Donald] Trump and his team of negotiators.”
The understandings reached at the Anchorage summit imply serious compromises on Russia’s part: “Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly commented that we have accepted the proposals [of Trump and his negotiating team in Anchorage], including those aspects of the proposals that are already a serious compromise for us.”
Ukraine and Europe “continue to make every effort to rework and rewrite the Anchorage understandings.”
Russia is fully committed to the understandings reached at the Anchorage summit: “Our conscience is clear. We are committed to the understandings that were clearly reached at the US suggestion in Alaska.”
Russia remains committed to a settlement in Ukraine and hopes that the US “will not be led astray from this true path.”
Kiev’s sabotage
Ukrainian terrorists “are actively involved in information security, engaging in cyberterrorism, targeting civilian objects such as banks, power plants, and transportation systems.”
The Ukrainian trace is not even hidden in the attack on the gas tanker Arctic Metagaz, which was legally following its route: “From the shores of Libya, they destroyed gas tanker Arctic Metagaz, which was sailing completely legally, and the Ukrainian trace – by and large, they are not even hiding it.”
The Kiev regime is planning attacks on the Turkish Stream and Blue Stream pipelines.
The United States and the United Kingdom have deployed infrastructure in Ukraine to carry out hacker attacks: “According to our reliable information, this infrastructure, created by the Anglo-Saxons, specialists, instructors, and military personnel from the US and Britain, is still in Ukraine and continues to engage in this criminal activity.”
Major Western companies, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and SpaceX, led by American entrepreneur Elon Musk, openly sponsor the activities of Ukrainian hackers.
The situation in the Middle East
There is no doubt that one of the goals of the US and Israeli operation in the Middle East “was to drive a wedge between the countries of the region, between the countries of the Persian Gulf — Iran and its Arab neighbors, between which a positive process of normalization had been observed until recently.”
The West in the Middle East operates on the principle of “divide, pit against each other, and rule.”
Russia’s strategic partners are suffering from the actions of the US and Israel: “We are talking about our close friends. All those who suffer from the aggression of the United States and Israel are our strategic partners.”
Russia and its partners on the world stage will do everything to create a mood that would stop the hostilities: “We will do everything to work with other peace-loving members of the international community, including in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, to create an atmosphere that will make this operation completely impossible.”
NATO is getting dragged into the war that the US and Israel have started against Iran: “Here, Mr. [NATO Secretary General Mark] Rutte is making some pretty strong statements. He said, ‘NATO is ready to use the collective defense clause in the US operation against Iran.’
“His statements mean: dear members of the international community, know that NATO’s interests lie wherever we tell you they lie.”
Negotiations between the US and Iran were close to success as early as June 2025: “Negotiations between the United States and Iran had been going on for a long time and, judging by the comments of the participants, were very close to success back in June last year, when, in the midst of negotiations, literally on the eve of the next round, the 12-day war was unleashed, then known as the first act of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The same thing has happened now.”
Aggression in the Middle East must be stopped immediately: “We advocate an immediate end to aggression.”
A moratorium on attacks that cause civilian casualties must be introduced in the Middle East: “Let us all stand together for the cessation of all hostilities, starting with a complete moratorium on attacks that lead to civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, as is happening in many Arab countries.”
Russia opposes suffering of the Persian Gulf nations in the conflict, Iran does not benefit from it, but the war must be stopped: “Politically, it is highly doubtful that Iran gains anything from this. Quite the contrary. But we also cannot accept the logic that Iran’s actions are unacceptable, while everything the US and Israel do is beyond discussion.”
The Persian monarchies have not condemned the actions of the US and Israel against Iran, nor the killing of the girls who died in the strike on the Iranian school.
Russia will distribute materials reflecting the Russian concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf region.
The logic behind the US’ actions in the Middle East is to “finish off” the current regime in Iran.
Russia calls for “jointly stopping” hostilities in the Middle East; a UN Security Council resolution is possible.
In the context of the conflict in the Middle East, Russia finds that the role of the IAEA and its secretariat “not very clear.”
The Board of Peace and Russian assets
The US did not respond to Russia’s official proposal to use frozen assets to contribute to the Board of Peace.
Credit: TASS
