Lavrov accuses West of waging proxy war against Russia through Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Western countries of waging a proxy war against Russia through Ukraine and attempting to destabilise Russian society, while rejecting what he described as Western ultimatums on ending the conflict.

In an interview with TASS, Lavrov said the West had initially believed it could shape Russia's future after the collapse of the Soviet Union but failed to anticipate the course taken under President Vladimir Putin.

“They thought they had us ‘in the bag.’ And when President [Vladimir] Putin came to power, he was completely open to an equal strategic partnership with the West,” Lavrov said.

He argued that Western countries, particularly the United Kingdom and the United States, are supporting Ukraine in a direct confrontation with Russia.

“The fact that our former allies—namely the Anglo-Saxons—are now, with varying degrees of ferocity—London more so, the U.S. slightly less—waging war against us through Ukraine, flooding it with the most advanced weapons, and announcing that they will produce new lethal and high-tech anti-missile systems specifically for Ukraine, — this has simply never happened before,” Lavrov said.

He also claimed that Western governments sought to provoke unrest inside Russia.

“We launched our ‘special military operation’ at a time when society, by and large, was calm, comfortable, and generally satisfied with its standard of living. And the fact that this, too, did not suit the West is a fact. They did not want society to be calm. They wanted to incite society against the government and were preparing provocations,” he said.

Commenting on diplomatic efforts to end the war, Lavrov said Western proposals amounted to an ultimatum rather than a basis for negotiations.

“The West is now telling us that they will consider when to resume negotiations with us, but these will be negotiations where Europe, America, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin would all sit at the same table. And before that, in their view, a truce—a ceasefire—must be declared. After that, they—the Westerners—will deploy a multinational force led by France and England, and then, presumably, they’ll sit down to talk. What does this mean? It’s an ultimatum,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov added that Russia would not abandon what he described as its national pride in the face of external pressure.

“But what makes our people unique is that—for example, do you remember how Vladimir Mayakovsky, in his poem ‘Broadway,’ wrote the line: ‘The Soviets have their own pride’? It’s not because the Soviets acquired it, but because the Russians have always had it. That pride remains,” he said.

By Sabina Mammadli