In an interview with CBS News on January 22, 2023, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated several misleading and baseless claims propagated by the Russian government regarding its conflict with Ukraine.
The Claims:
- The assertion that the West is waging war against Russia through Ukraine: Lavrov claimed, “The Western policy of using Ukraine as an instrument of war against Russia,” which misrepresents the nature of Western support for Ukraine.
- Denial of Russian resistance to negotiations: He stated, “It’s untrue when someone says Russia is against negotiations,” despite evidence suggesting Russia’s reluctance to engage in meaningful peace talks.
- Misrepresentation of NATO expansion: Lavrov inaccurately claimed, “We have been warning publicly since 2008, 2007 maybe, that NATO expansion, against all the promises given to Yeltsin, to Gorbachev, not to expand their lines. In 2021 NATO found itself right on the borders of the Russian Federation.” This statement ignores the fact that NATO’s expansion is a result of sovereign decisions by independent countries, not a targeted strategy against Russia.
The Facts:
- The West is not in a state of war with Russia. Russia’s unprovoked invasions of Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022 have resulted in their ongoing war against Ukraine. The West is providing weapons to assist Ukraine in defending its people and sovereignty.
- Russia has shown no interest or support for peace negotiations. In December 2023, Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin explicitly stated that there is no basis for negotiations, stating, “We firmly believe that the topic of negotiations is currently irrelevant.” The Kremlin could not have been clearer in rejecting the idea of negotiations.
- NATO has never made any commitment or signed any agreement that would prevent any nation from seeking membership in the alliance. Article 10 of the NATO Treaty establishes an open-door policy for membership applications, granting every sovereign nation the right to determine its own security arrangements. Regardless of the Kremlin’s statements, it does not possess the authority to veto the sovereign decisions, including security arrangements and alliances, of any nation other than Russia itself.
In the video below, Russian state media makes clear the government’s views on negotiations (Source Twitter/X https://twitter.com/adnashmyash/status/1750627911231533194)
