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Jan. 15, 2025 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked in his Jan. 14 New Year’s press conference if President Donald Trump can realistically strike a deal to bring a peaceful end to the Ukraine conflict. Lavrov said, once again, that Russia is waiting to hear what Trump proposes once in office, but he cited two changes in “the narrative” that Russia considers positive.
“The increasing reference to the realities `on the ground’ is a development likely to be welcomed,” he stated. “Michael Waltz, who I understand is expected to become the National Security Adviser, alongside President Trump in a wide-ranging interview, highlighted the root causes of the conflict. They alluded to the Kiev regime’s induction into NATO, contravening agreements made through Soviet and subsequently Russian-American dialogues, as well as within the OSCE. These agreements, reached by consensus at the highest level and endorsed by presidents, including President Barack Obama in 2010, stipulated that no nation or organization within the OSCE should seek dominance, nor should any nation bolster its security at the expense of others. Yet, NATO has pursued precisely what it vowed not to do, as Donald Trump has pointed out.”
Lavrov noted that Trump’s statement that NATO had pursued what it had vowed not to do, “marks the first occasion an American, and indeed any Western leader has openly acknowledged that NATO was disingenuous when it signed numerous accords with our country and within the OSCE. These agreements served merely as a facade, a piece of paper, while in practice, NATO has advanced towards our borders, infringing upon the terms under which East Germany integrated into the Federal Republic. This includes advancing military infrastructure nearer to our borders and planning military bases, including naval bases in Crimea and on the Sea of Azov. These facts are well-documented.
