Russia will not start war, but we will not allow our interests to be trampled on: Lavrov

Moscow: Amid fears of an invasion of Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday that Moscow would not start a war but warned that it would not allow Western countries to trample on its security interests. US President Joe Biden warned Ukraine’s president a day earlier that there were “clear apprehensions” that Russia could take military action against his country in February. “As long as it depends on the Russian Federation, there will be no war, we don’t want war,” Lavrov said in an interview with a Russian radio station. But we will not allow our interests to be trampled upon and ignored mercilessly.

fear of rust intensifies

Russia has gathered more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, raising fears of war in the region. Russia has consistently denied that it is planning an attack on Ukraine, but the US and its NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation) allies believe Russia is heading towards war and preparing for it. . Russia’s main demands include not including Ukraine in NATO and the removal of weapons from the region that could threaten Russia. But the US and NATO have strongly rejected any concessions to Russia’s main demands.

stress reduction measures
However, to reduce tension, the US has outlined the issues on which talks can be made. Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin will decide on these proposals and it will decide whether Ukraine will be attacked or not. Meanwhile, the Kremlin (Russian President’s Office) has said that the response from the US and NATO leaves “little room for hope”. Lavrov noted on Friday that the US has suggested that the two sides could discuss rules on limiting the deployment of medium-range missiles, stopping military exercises and preventing accidents on warships and aircraft. He said that Russia had proposed to discuss these issues years ago but the US and its allies never paid heed to it.

‘Russia warns America’
Lavrov described US proposals for talks on confidence-building measures as logical, but stressed that Russia’s main concerns were to prevent the expansion of NATO and the deployment of coalition weapons near Russia’s borders. He said that international agreements state that the security of one nation should not be at the expense of the others and that he would send letters to his Western counterparts to fulfill that obligation. As tensions rise, the US has warned Russia of imposing harsh sanctions if it attacks Ukraine. Asked about possible sanctions, Lavrov said Moscow has warned Washington that any move by him would amount to a complete severance of ties. (Language)