Lavrov blamed the West for the prolongation of the war. United States Department of Defense (Pentagon) Spokesperson John Kirby announced that Florida National Guard specialists had started training Ukrainian soldiers in Germany. Kirby stated that the training areas covered howitzer, artillery and radar systems, which are the areas given to Ukraine for self-defense against Russia.
The Florida National Guard was stationed in Ukraine before Russia declared war on Ukraine and began to train Ukrainian soldiers there. The USA is one of the countries that gives the most military support to Ukraine.
At the Ukraine summit, which was held last week in Ramstein, the US base in Germany with the initiative of the USA, and attended by about 40 countries, Germany also ended its long-standing cautious stance on giving heavy weapons to Ukraine, and gave the green light to supply heavy weapons. German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht also announced that Germany will train Ukrainian soldiers on artillery systems on German soil.
Lavrov again blamed NATO
In an interview with the Chinese news agency Shinhua, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Russia of hindering the “special operation against Ukraine” with the help of Western weapons and political decisions. In his interview in Al-Arabiya, Lavrov said that they knew the routes through which weapons were shipped to Ukraine from the West, and threatened to destroy it, stating that once the weapons in question reach Ukraine, they will be targeted and shot.
The Russian Foreign Minister also claimed that the negotiations to end the war between Moscow and Kyiv are progressing slowly, because this is being hindered by the military language and provocative steps used by the West.
Lavrov also announced that the number of people taken from Ukraine to Russia since the start of the Ukraine war is 1 million 20 thousand. According to Lavrov, these people were taken to the territory of Russia, which launched the attack “for their safety”.
We are not at war with NATO
The Russian Foreign Minister also said that his country is not at war with NATO, and that his country does not threaten nuclear weapons, and that the Western media exaggerated the situation. At the end of February, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his nuclear weapons to be put on alert, which was interpreted as a threat of nuclear war.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights declared the civilian casualties in the war launched by Russia against Ukraine as 2,899. Although this is the official figure, the actual figure is estimated to be much higher than this.
Mützenich demands diplomatic initiative
Rolf Mützenich, the head of the Bundestag Group, the big partner of the coalition in Germany, a heavyweight of the Social Democratic Party of Prime Minister Olaf Scholz’s party, demanded diplomatic talks with the countries that support Russia. Mützenich also reminded of the vote in the UN General Assembly to condemn Russia’s war against Ukraine, and argued that there should be talks with Moscow’s strategic partners, referring to the countries that refused or abstained from it. Emphasizing that it would be important for these countries to turn their backs on Putin, Mützenich stated that Putin should be isolated from the international community. Mützenich, a member of the Social Democratic Party, defended the view that the international isolation of Moscow could also be achieved through negotiations with the said countries.
In the historical vote of the UN General Assembly on the condemnation of Russia for the war against Ukraine, held at the beginning of March, 141 votes were voted against, 5 against, and the abstention of 35 countries also caused concern.
AFP,dpa/ETO,SSB