Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said attacks on civilian facilities in Russia, including oil refineries, would result in a harsher response for Ukraine.
Lavrov said Moscow had previously warned Kyiv on the matter and claimed that responses had been carried out against the attacks. The Russian minister said Russia placed greater importance on developments on the ground than on rhetoric.
Lavrov comments on Britain and Europe
Commenting on British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s remarks that support for Ukraine would continue, Lavrov said he felt sorry for Britain because of its approach to Ukraine’s future.
Lavrov also claimed that European countries were concerned about a return to the agreements reached between Russia and the United States in Anchorage. He argued that European leaders were trying to dissuade U.S. President Donald Trump from supporting their own initiatives.
The Russian foreign minister said French President Emmanuel Macron had announced at the NATO summit in June that the Anchorage process had ended and that the United States and Europe were acting together against Russia.
Accusation concerning the Istanbul talks and Boris Johnson
Lavrov said talks aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine were not currently taking place, and claimed that there had been sufficient opportunities in the past for a peace agreement. In this context, he recalled the Russia-Ukraine talks held in Istanbul in the spring of 2022.
Lavrov accused Boris Johnson, who was Britain’s prime minister at the time, of preventing an agreement from being reached. Rejecting Johnson’s remarks that he had not forbidden Kyiv from reaching an agreement with Moscow, Lavrov argued that those statements did not reflect the truth.
Lavrov also claimed that Western countries had prevented Ukraine from signing its own proposed settlement initiatives, which Russia was ready to accept. He based this claim on an article published in The American Conservative magazine.
Negotiations and a message about the battlefield
Lavrov said Moscow preferred negotiations in order to achieve its objectives. However, he said Russia would achieve its objectives on the battlefield if the possibility of a compromise disappeared.
Criticizing statements by European countries about preparing for a possible military conflict with Russia by 2030, Lavrov said Russia had no plans to attack European countries. He also recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s remarks that a war resulting from a European attack on Russia would be different and short-lived.
Emphasis on cooperation with Eastern countries
Lavrov said Russia currently saw greater opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation with Eastern countries than with Western countries, adding that Moscow was placing geopolitical options at the forefront of its relations.
Lavrov claimed that Russia had not initiated the deterioration of relations with Western countries and supported broad-based cooperation mechanisms. He said Moscow considered threats and opportunities for mutual benefit in its relations with both the West and the East.
