Xinhua conducted an interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on April 30, focusing on the Ukraine situation. Lavrov went through all the reasons behind the decision to launch the “special military operation” in Ukraine. Lavrov replied in part: “Over these past years, the United States and its allies have done nothing to stop the intra-Ukrainian conflict. Instead of encouraging Kyiv to settle it politically based on the Minsk Complex of Measures, they sent weapons, trained and armed the Ukrainian army and nationalist battalions, and generally carried out the military-political development of Ukraine’s territory. They encouraged the aggressive anti-Russia course pursued by the Kyiv authorities. In fact, they pushed the Ukrainian nationalists to undermine the negotiating process and resolve the Donbass issue by force.”
To a question about humanitarian corridors, Lavrov replied, “Humanitarian corridors open daily from Kharkiv and Mariupol to evacuate people from dangerous districts, but the Kyiv regime demands that the ‘national battalions’ in control of those areas not release the civilians. Nevertheless, many are able to leave with the assistance of Russian, D.P.R. and L.P.R. servicemen.” (The UN reported that a number of people have been released from the Azovstal facility in Mariupol today.) Lavrov went on: “In total, 1.02 million people have been evacuated from Ukraine, the D.P.R. and L.P.R., of whom over 120,000 are citizens of third countries, including over 300 Chinese nationals. There are over 9,500 temporary accommodation facilities operating in Russian regions. They have space for rest and hot meals, and everything that may be necessary. Newly arrived refugees are provided with qualified medical and psychological assistance.”
In discussing the effect of the sanctions, Lavrov said: “The United States, Great Britain, Canada and EU countries do not conceal that their goal is to strangle our economy by undermining its competitiveness and blocking Russia’s progressive development. At the same time, the Western ruling circles are not embarrassed by the fact that anti-Russian sanctions are already beginning to harm ordinary people in their own countries. I mean the declining economic trends in the United States and many European countries, including growing inflation and unemployment….” He affirmed, “In any case, they will not succeed in weakening us. I am confident that we will restructure the economy and protect ourselves from our opponents’ possible illegitimate and hostile actions in the future. … We will focus our efforts on de-dollarization, de-offshorization, import substitution, and promotion of technological independence. We will continue to adapt to external challenges and step up development programs for promising and competitive industries.”
Regarding the global implications of the crisis, Lavrov said, “As a responsible player on the international market, Russia intends to continue scrupulously fulfilling its obligations under international contracts on export deliveries of agricultural products, fertilizers, energy carriers and other critical products. We are deeply concerned about a possible food crisis provoked by the anti-Russian sanctions, and we are well aware how important the deliveries of essential goods, such as food, are for the socioeconomic development of Asian, African, Latin American, and Middle Eastern countries.
“I will be brief as regards the second part of your question. Today we are not talking about a new ‘Cold War,’ but, as I said earlier, about the persistent desire to impose a U.S.-centric model of the world order coming from Washington and its satellites, who imagine themselves to be ‘arbiters of humankind’s fate.’ It has reached the point where the Western minority is trying to replace the UN-centric architecture and international law … with their own ‘rules-based order.’ These rules are written by Washington and its allies and then imposed on the international community as binding.”
Addressing the effort for peace negotiations, Lavrov explained: “At present the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are holding discussions on the possible draft almost daily, via videoconference. This document should contain such elements of the post-conflict situation as permanent neutrality, the non-nuclear, non-bloc and demilitarized status of Ukraine, as well as guarantees of its security. The agenda of the talks also includes denazification, recognition of the new geopolitical reality, the lifting of sanctions and the status of the Russian language, among other things. Settling the situation in Ukraine will make a significant contribution to the de-escalation of the military and political tensions in Europe and the world in general. The establishment of an institution of guarantor states is envisaged as a possible option. First of all, they will be the permanent members of the UN Security Council, including Russia and China. We share information on the progress in the talks with Chinese diplomats. We are grateful to Beijing and other BRICS partners for their balanced position on the Ukrainian issue.
“We are in favor of continuing the talks, although the process is difficult…. I am confident that agreements can only be reached when Kyiv starts to be guided by the interests of the Ukrainian people, and not the advisors from far away.”
The complete interview is posted to the Russian Foreign Ministry website: https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1811525/
