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In a wide-ranging interview with Alternative Television in Republika Srpska, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described the Ukraine peace conference being prepared by Switzerland as an unacceptable attempt to present Moscow with an ultimatum. He also condemned the anti-Serb policy of the West in the Balkans, as well as its undermining of global security more broadly.
The Russian Foreign Minister laid out the reasons for the war in Ukraine, explaining “The war was quite long in the making, and has been waged for a long time too. The West has introduced its usual tools into the mix, including sanctions, blackmail and threats. We did not have any other choice. In late 2021 and early 2022, the Kiev regime clearly opted for settling what it called as the Donbass issue by force. We decided to defend our own security, since NATO has been trying to draw Ukraine into its ranks and had already plans to set up military bases on its territory, including on the Sea of Azov, which is on Russia’s doorstep. We launched the special military operation to protect Russians who have been living on this land for centuries since Cathrine the Great added them to the Russian crown. Russian military commanders and manufacturers defended and developed this territory, while the Kiev regime outlawed these people by banning the Russian language across the board, be it in education, media, culture, or even everyday communications. This is what the special military operation is all about.”
Lavrov accused the West of a conspiracy against Russia, saying that the military aid to Ukraine is only exacerbating the war. He added that only China and South Africa are making serious efforts to help stop the war. “The Swiss Confederation is no longer a neutral state,” Lavrov declared in reference to plans for Switzerland to host a peace conference. “The country is now at the forefront of supporting and arming the Kiev regime. This state takes the toughest stance against Russia, consistently joining the ever-new sanctions.”
“We do not expect integrity and order from our Western partners,” Lavrov said the interview. He stated that Moscow now has no one in the West to negotiate with and that therefore the Russian military is continuing to carry out its tasks as part of its special military operation.
Lavrov declared that the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine are “absolutely necessary steps,” accusing the government in Kiev of introducing “racial laws to affirm the ideology of Nazism.” He also accused EU and NATO leaders of following this same policy.
Lavrov said that Russia’s biggest enemy at the moment is French President Emmanuel Macron because he openly declares that the West should be prepared to send troops to Ukraine if necessary. He accused Macron of “Russophobia in an attempt to become the leader of Europe.”
Lavrov condemned the West over the situation in the Balkans, including the planned adoption of a UN resolution to honor the victims of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide and the admission of Kosovo to the Council of Europe.
He said that this is further proof that the West is continuing its policy to “break” Serbia and the Serbs as part of a global conspiracy to destroy Orthodox Christianity and install the US-controlled patriarch of Istanbul as their religious leader.
Lavrov praised Milorad Dodik, President of Republika Srpska, as the only true fighter for the authentic interpretation of the Dayton agreement. “In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Milorad Dodik has been cast as the main villain who allegedly seeks to dismantle the Dayton Accords, while in reality he and his team are the only ones in Bosnia who are fighting for the Dayton Principles,” the Russian Foreign Minister declared.
He also accused the so-called High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Christian Schmidt, of attempting to implement the project of “unitarisation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition to the Serbs, the Croats are also targeted by unitarisation,” the Russian Foreign Minister added.
“He (Schmidt) is trying to play with some political forces of the Croats in central Bosnia, but the Croats also have their own view of that and of the way in which they will defend their identity and the Dayton principles of the equality of the three constituent nations.” Lavrov said.
The Russian Foreign Minister summed up the global situation, stating “We have long become disillusioned in these Euro-Atlantic principles, in particular, because the Americans have destroyed the system of arms control and are unable to work honestly in the humanitarian and economic spheres. We believe that the Euro-Atlantic security model has discredited itself and failed. We are now speaking about creating a Eurasian system of security. When countries that respect their history and traditions want to chart their own course and independently determine their future, they can also come to an agreement in the sphere of security.”
