Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia does not want a continent-wide war in Europe, but added a note of caution about the intentions of Western governments backing Ukraine.
“If you’re worried about the prospect of war in Europe, we absolutely don’t want that, but I warn you that West consistently insists that Russia must be defeated in this situation. Draw your own conclusions,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov appeared to be referring to statements like that made by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who said last month that Washington wanted “Russia to be weakened to the point where it can no longer do the things it did when it invaded Ukraine.”
Russia has repeatedly tried to justify its invasion of Ukraine as fighting Ukrainian neo-Nazis and NATO’s expansion into Eastern Europe, forces the Kremlin says pose an existential threat.
Lavrov has previously alluded to the threat of a major war – even a nuclear one – rhetoric US President Joe Biden called “irresponsible”.
Energy exports: Alongside Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, Lavrov said after talks in Muscat on Wednesday that Moscow has enough buyers for its energy resources as the European Union is considering banning Russian oil imports.
“We have enough buyers of our energy resources. We will work with them and make the West pay them much more than they paid the Russian Federation and explain to the people why they should become poorer,” he said.
Read Also :