Sergey Lavrov (AP)
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday claimed that Nato and the European Union had “declared war” on Moscow through Ukraine during remarks at a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting on September 25 and on the sidelines of the United Nations.”Another clear example is the crisis in Ukraine provoked by the West, through which NATO and the EU have … already declared a real war on my country and are directly involved in it,” Lavrov said, as cited by Reuters. Lavrov made the remarks at a G20 foreign ministers’ meeting at the UN, two days after US President Donald Trump, in a rhetorical shift, criticized Moscow’s military performance in Ukraine and suggested that Kyiv could reclaim all its territory.While he did not address Trump’s recent comments, he instead repeated Russia’s claim that the West provoked the war in Ukraine, which began with Moscow’s invasion in February 2022. He said Nato and the EU had gone beyond indirect support and were now active participants in the conflict, echoing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who made similar remarks earlier this month, reported the Kyiv Independent.Britain dismissed Lavrov’s remarks as “false fantasy world distortions.” As Lavrov prepared to leave, British foreign secretary Yvette Cooper addressed the UN, condemning Russia’s “unprovoked war of aggression.”“No amount of false fantasy world distortions, misinformation, and propaganda from the Russian representative about the causes of the war will convince anyone,” she said, as reported by Reuters.Lavrov’s comments come as tensions escalate between Russia and Nato, following recent incursions into the alliance’s airspace by Russian drones and fighter jets.Poland shot down at least three Russian drones that entered its airspace earlier this month, and a few days later, Romania reported a Russian drone flying over its territory for nearly an hour. Estonia accused Russia of violating its airspace on September 19 with three MiG-31 fighter jets, which remained in the country’s airspace for 12 minutes.Most recently, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) scrambled fighter jets on Wednesday to intercept four Russian military aircraft detected near Alaska, the US-Canadian defense organization said on Thursday.More than three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, its forces continue to occupy roughly 20% of Ukraine, with intense fighting ongoing in the eastern regions.
