Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the war in Ukraine would continue and was showing signs of escalation. He also said that US President Donald Trump’s administration remained open to dialogue with Moscow despite continuing to provide military support to Ukraine.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov made the remarks on October 27 during a meeting with executives and editors-in-chief of African media outlets in Moscow, as reported by Russia’s TASS news agency.
“This war will continue and, I would even say, it is showing a tendency to escalate. Especially now, when, for example, US President Donald Trump’s administration, despite all its actions in support of Ukraine (the supply of weapons sold to Europeans and the provision of satellite intelligence), is open to dialogue with us and openly advocates developing and deepening that dialogue, extending it to as many areas as possible,” Lavrov said.
According to the Russian foreign minister, European countries had refused any contact with Russia until recently but have now begun discussing the need to restore such contacts.
Commenting on Vladimir Putin’s phone call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Lavrov said Europeans were trying to “squeeze their way into” negotiations over Ukraine.
He also described European leaders who continue to support Kyiv despite deteriorating conditions in their own countries as “political masochists”.
Lavrov accused Europe of waging an information war against Russia. He claimed European countries were trying to stay afloat through such efforts but were becoming “less and less successful”. He also argued that portraying Russia as a threat was condemning the West to isolation.
“Russia is also defined in US doctrinal documents as something that must be fought against. Of course, this does not help develop normal relations on the international stage. In essence, it condemns the West to isolation when it comes to participating in promising multilateral initiatives that are now shaping the agenda for the future,” Lavrov said.
