The Kremlin is once again threatening kyiv and its allies. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday, December 5, that Russia intended to “be taken seriously” after the firing of a new Oreshnik missile on Ukraine at the end of November. The United States and its allies must “understand that we would be ready to use any means to prevent them from achieving what they call the strategic defeat of Russia,” he told the editorialist and controversial host Tucker Carlson, who was the first American journalist to interview Vladimir Putin after the invasion of Ukraine.
“We are sending signals and we hope that the last one, two weeks ago, was taken seriously,” said the minister, referring to the date of the firing of this powerful medium-range missile. According to Russian authorities, this strike responded to bombings carried out by kyiv in Russia using American and British missiles. While insisting that Russia wants to “avoid any misunderstandings” with Washington and its partners, the official warned that Russia would send “additional messages if they do not draw the necessary conclusions.”
Donald Trump? “A very strong person”, according to Sergei Lavrov
Sergei Lavrov explicitly mentioned the Russian position vis-à-vis Washington during this exchange. “We would like to have normal relations with all our neighbors […]with all countries and in particular with a large country like the United States”, he assured. Less than two months before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, the outgoing administration of Joe Biden says for its part wanting to “ensure that Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression”.
The objective, from the Russian leader’s point of view? Intensify the conflict in Ukraine “to leave the Trump administration with as bad a legacy as possible.” The Republican, elected in early November, was complimented by Vladimir Putin a few days ago, calling him “intelligent”. “We do not see why Russia and the United States could not cooperate for the good of the universe,” Sergei Lavrov said. The latter also expressed his respect for the Republican, whom he considers to be a “very strong person, who wants results, who does not like procrastination on anything”.
“A hybrid war” in Ukraine
Concerning the Ukrainian conflict, Sergei Lavrov also gave some new elements on the Kremlin’s vision. “Officially we are not at war, but what is happening in Ukraine, some call it a hybrid war, I would also call it a hybrid war,” he said. “It is obvious that the Ukrainians could not do what they are doing with modern long-range weapons without the direct participation of the American military.” After the Orechnik missile was fired, the Russian president declared that the machine flew at a speed ten times the speed of sound and that it could not be intercepted by air defenses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky then called this attack “the latest bout of Russian madness”.
Warning that Moscow was “ready for any eventuality”, the Minister of Foreign Affairs nevertheless insisted that Russia “far preferred a peaceful solution through negotiations on the basis of respect for Russia’s legitimate interests”. But what could such a peace agreement look like? For the leader, kyiv should, among other things, accept Russian control of “the regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk and Zaporizhia.” “These regions are now part of the Russian Federation, in accordance with the Constitution, and this is a reality,” he asserted.
Also addressing the Middle East during this interview, Sergei Lavrov described the Israeli offensive in Gaza as “collective punishment” of the Palestinians, going “against international humanitarian law”. The minister also said he was “very concerned” about the situation in Syria where rebel groups have seized entire areas of territory from the government of Bashar al-Assad, an ally of Russia. He said he planned to speak with Turkish and Iranian officials on the situation on Friday.