Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov: “We will tackle the sanctions issue in such a way that we will never be dependent on the West. We will take such measures to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in a similar predicament again.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov evaluated the Russia-Ukraine-Türkiye tripartite meeting of foreign ministers held on the margins of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) at the Regnum Carya Hotel in Antalya with the mediation of Türkiye.
Recalling that the tripartite meeting, which was held with the participation of Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, was proposed by the Turkish side, Lavrov stated that the decision to hold this meeting had been made after a phone call between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of the Republic of Türkiye and President Vladimir Putin of Russia.
Stating that Russia favours all kinds of contacts, Lavrov expressed that they will support any attempt to resolve the Ukraine crisis. Emphasising the need to gain added value as a result of these contacts, Lavrov said, “We also want the legitimate negotiation roadmap not to be misused in any manner. There is no substitute for negotiations, and that was made quite clear today.”
Noting that volunteer battalions are using civilians in Ukraine, Lavrov said, “We made sure that our proposal to open humanitarian corridors daily was still viable. The routes are determined by those who control the situation. We aim to choose the safest and most effective routes and evacuate civilians.”
Underlining that they expect the negotiations in Belarus to yield serious results, Lavrov continued:
“We desire a comprehensive resolution of the Ukraine crisis. With the interests of all parties and those of European countries in mind, we want to find a solution that works for all parties.”
The supply of weapons to Ukraine is a threat to Russia
When asked about the costs of war in Ukraine, Russia’s reaction to Western-supplied weapons for the Ukrainian army, and Russia’s option of retaliation against the Patriot missiles to be deployed in Poland, Lavrov said, “These evaluations are made by the Ministry of Defense and our President (Vladimir Putin). And he says everything is going as planned.”
Minister Lavrov called the supply of weapons to Ukraine from abroad a “dangerous act,” stating that it violates all EU principles and encourages the entry of deadly weapons into Ukraine. Asking how the Europeans will prevent the policy that emerges from here, Lavrov argued that this situation is a threat to Russia and that even in the future, the rocket launchers here will also affect civil aviation, and the weapons may spread to Europe.
Stating that they will not attack other countries, Lavrov said, “Neither did we launch an attack on Ukraine. Such a situation has arisen that there is a direct threat to Russia. We have issued warnings and made offers for many years. Nobody listened to us. Putin expressed his views on this matter in great detail.”
Noting that there have been planned attacks on separatist governments in eastern Ukraine, Lavrov claimed there were efforts to create military biological weapons at Russia’s borders. Lavrov stated the allegations that the Pentagon has installed dozens of military biological laboratories on the territory of Ukraine worry them, and they want answers to these questions.
Stating that they do not have information on whether the biological weapons developed in the said laboratories have been used yet, Lavrov said, “There is no doubt that what is being done here is not peaceful research, but rather experiments geared at developing biological weapons.”
Noting that volunteer soldiers were gathered in Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said, “Those who provide weapons to Ukraine are responsible for their actions. Those who encourage mercenaries will be responsible for this.”
Recalling that they informed the United Nations Security Council a while ago that the maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol was turned into a base by Ukrainian radical troops and the hospital was already evacuated beforehand, Lavrov argued that various forms of mass media were employed to generate a social public opinion perception, which is then exploited emotionally.
Lavrov noted that the West has been attempting for years to turn Ukraine anti-Russian and that Ukraine’s membership in NATO, as well as the deployment of nuclear weapons and military bases in Ukraine, have come to the fore. Lavrov also pointed out that military biological laboratories have been uncovered in Ukraine and reiterated that all of this was a threat to Russia’s security.
Emphasising that they want Ukraine to be demilitarised, Lavrov said, “This should happen with or without NATO. Because even without a NATO presence, systems capable of turning the barrel on our soil can be established there. Russia sought to solve this security issue via diplomacy from the very beginning.”
“We want Ukraine to be neutral”
Lavrov stated that despite the assurances claiming Russian security was not in jeopardy, the decision was made to station missiles in Ukraine, and went on to say:
“Therefore, we are not obliged to justify and explain our position in Ukraine. We want Ukraine to be a neutral country. By opposing NATO’s expansion, we do not oppose Ukraine’s security in any respect. We do not have any obscurity about it. Judging by Zelensky’s (President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine) remarks, he is gradually beginning to draw such a roadmap. This encourages us to be optimistic.”
“We’ll tackle the sanctions; we will not be dependent on the West”
Emphasising that Russia’s economic challenges were their domestic concerns, which they will address on their own, Lavrov said:
“Our people are facing some difficulties. We hope to recover from this crisis in a healthy way. We wish everyone to emerge through the crisis consciously. We don’t have the slightest illusion. We see how the West always betrays everyone and betrays its own values as well. Whoever heard of private property rights being trampled over by a simple clicking of the fingers? We’ll tackle the sanctions issue in such a way that we’ll never be dependent on the West. We’ll take such measures to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in a similar predicament again.”
Regarding the likelihood of President Vladimir Putin of Russia meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Sergey Lavrov said, “Putin never avoids contacts. It is just that we do not want these contacts to be merely for the sake of talk. Certain deals need to be made. We discussed this with Kuleba, and I reminded him that we are always ready to negotiate if a result is to be achieved.”