Lavrov: Russia pledges “full protection” of territories to be annexed

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated yesterday, Saturday, that its areas Ukrainian in which they are conducted referendums they would be under Russia’s “full protection” if annexed by Moscow, amid fears that Russia could further escalate the conflict and even use nuclear weapons.

The Russian Foreign Minister, during his speech at the UN General Assembly and the interview he gave to international media in New York, tried to justify his country’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine, repeating Moscow’s false claims that the elected government of Kiev is illegal full of neo-nazis and oppresses Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine.

On Friday, Russia started referendums in four regions of eastern Ukraine, which are aimed at annexing the territories it seized by force. Kyiv complained that residents they are forced to vote and they are not allowed to leave those areas during the four-day referendum, which Western countries have called a “fraud” aimed at justifying an escalation in the seven-month war in Ukraine.

“After these referendums, Russia will certainly respect the expression of the will of those people who have suffered for many years from the abuses of the neo-Nazi regime,” Lavrov said at the press conference he gave after his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

When asked whether Russia would have reason to use nuclear weapons to defend annexed areas of Ukraine, Lavrov responded that Russian territory, including territory “to be further enshrined” in Russia’s Constitution in the future “is under the full protection of the state”.

“All laws, doctrines, perceptions and strategies of the Russian Federation will be applied throughout its territory,” he noted, also referring specifically to Russia’s doctrine of using nuclear weapons.

These statements came after the express warning on Thursday from the former president of Russia Dmitry Medvedevan ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, that any weapon in Moscow’s arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend territories incorporated into Russia.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba said Lavrov’s comments and Putin’s earlier statement, when he said he was not bluffing about using nuclear weapons, were “irresponsible” and “absolutely unacceptable”.

“Ukraine will not back down. We call on all nuclear powers to speak up now and make it clear to Russia that this kind of rhetoric puts the world at risk and will not be tolerated.”Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Russia accuses the US and other countries of being parties to the conflict by sending weapons to help Ukraine defend itself. The possible annexation of Ukrainian territory raises the question of how Russia might respond to the use of Western weapons in those areas.

Ukraine also called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council on these referendums, demanding that Russia be “accounted for its further efforts to change Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders in violation of the UN Charter,” as noted on Twitter representative of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Oleg Nikolenko.

Mobilization

Putin gave the order on Wednesday for the first conscription in Russia after World War II, an announcement that sent some Russians rushing to the border, with traffic in border points with Finland and Georgia to rise and the prices of air travel from Moscow to take off.

Asked yesterday why so many Russians are leaving the country, Lavrov referred to the right to free movement.

Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by arguing that the enlargement of the NATO alliance under the US after the collapse of the Soviet Union threatens Russia.

Asked if he could foresee future talks with the US that would make Russia feel more secure about what Moscow describes as NATO encroachment, Lavrov said it was the West that broke off previous talks. His US counterpart Anthony Blinken halted the talks on the eve of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, saying Russia’s deployment of forces on Ukraine’s border constituted a “rejection of diplomacy”.

“We don’t say no to contacts. And when proposals in this direction come, we agree. If our partners want us to meet discreetly so that no one knows about it, that’s fine, because it’s always better to talk than not talk Lavrov said. “However, in the current situation, Russia is simply not going to make the first move,” write down.

Lavrov has sought to give the impression that opposition to Russia’s war in Ukraine is limited to Washington and countries under its influence. Russia is trying to overcome its international isolation after nearly three-quarters of the UN General Assembly voted to reprimand Moscow in March.

Russia’s strategic partner China is firm in its positions, criticizing Western sanctions on Russia, but refraining from endorsing or offering aid to the military campaign. But in a surprise admission last week, Putin said Chinese President Xi Jinping had concerns about Ukraine.

Finally, when asked if Russia is under any pressure from China to end the war, Lavrov replied: “You can tell your readers, listeners, viewers that I avoided answering your question.”

RES-EMP

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