In Moscow, Tucker Carlson conducted an interview with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow. The interview is available in both video and transcript form. Key highlights:
On U.S.-Russia relations, Carlson asked “Do you believe the United States and Russia are at war with each other right now?” Sergey Lavrov’s response:
“I wouldn’t say so. And in any case, this is not what we want. We would like to have normal relations with all our neighbors, of course, but generally with all countries, especially with the great country like the United States. And President Vladimir Putin repeatedly expressed his respect for the American people, for the American history, for the American achievements in the world, and we don’t see any reason why Russia and the United States cannot cooperate for the sake of the universe.”
Regarding the origins of the conflict now playing out on Ukrainian territory, Lavrov pointed to the 2014 coup in Ukraine, the alienation of the eastern provinces, the failure of the Minsk agreements, and the failure to take into account Russia’s legitimate security interests. Lavrov:
“Had the coup in February 2014, had it not happened and the deal which was reached the day before between the then-president and the opposition implemented, Ukraine would have stayed one piece by now with Crimea in it.”
On the subject of the UN Charter, Lavrov repeatedly pointed out that it addresses not only territorial integrity but also the right to self-determination. The West pays selective attention to these human rights, he said:
“The United States, U.K., Brussels, they would interfere, saying, ‘Oh, human rights have been grossly violated. We must restore the human rights in such and such territory.’ On Ukraine, never, ever they mumbled the words ‘human rights,’ seeing these human rights for the Russian and Russian-speaking population being totally exterminated by law. So when people say, ‘Let’s resolve the conflict on the basis of the Charter,'—yes. But don’t forget that the Charter is not only about territorial integrity. And territorial integrity must be respected only if the governments are legitimate and if they respect the rights of their own people.”
Later in the interview, he insisted, “The UN Charter is not a menu. You have to respect it in all its entirety.” He pointed to the hypocrisy of those nations that rapidly recognized the unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo, but that speak of nothing but territorial integrity with respect to the former eastern provinces of Ukraine.
As another example of the selective application of human rights, Lavrov pointed to the deaths of some 45,000 civilians in Palestine. “This is almost twice as many as the number of civilians on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict who died during the 10 years since the coup,” he assessed.
