In an interview from the film released today titled “A World on the Verge: Lessons of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov compared the situation in Ukraine today to the Cuban Missile Crisis, reported TASS. “There are similarities. Both in 1962 and now we are talking about creating direct threats to Russia’s security right on our borders. Today it is even closer than the Jupiters (U.S. missiles) located in Turkey. There is a military campaign to pump Ukraine with all kinds of weapons,” Lavrov remarked.
“The difference is that back in 1962, [Soviet Chairman Nikita] Khrushchev and [U.S. President John] Kennedy found the strength to show responsibility and wisdom, and now from Washington and its satellites we do not yet see such willingness,” he said.
“We are always ready to listen to our Western colleagues if they make another request to organize a conversation,” Lavrov remarked, provided they “fully take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and its security.” “We will always be ready to listen to what proposals our Western partners have to de-escalate tensions, so if we are approached with some realistic proposals based on the principles of equality and respect for each other’s interests.”
The transcript and footage of the complete interview is posted to the Russian page of the ministry website. (https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1835806/ )
