By Simon Lewis and Michelle Nichols
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -Russian Overseas Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday informed the United Nations that it was mindless to disregard alternate options to Ukraine’s peace proposals, warning the West of the hazard of making an attempt to “fight to victory with a nuclear power.”
Addressing the U.N. Normal Meeting, Lavrov took goal at backers of Ukraine who assist Kyiv’s peace proposal.
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. 9 months later Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy introduced a 10-point peace plan to carry a simply finish to the conflict on the premise of the founding U.N. Constitution and worldwide legislation. Moscow rejected the plan.
“I’m not going to talk here about the senselessness and the danger of the very idea of trying to fight to victory with a nuclear power, which is what Russia is,” Lavrov mentioned.
“Equally senseless, the Western backers of Kyiv swearing that there is no alternative to negotiations based on the infamous peace formula.”
Invoking Western allies’ plans within the Nineteen Forties to “destroy” the Soviet Union, he accused the West of making an attempt to deal a “strategic defeat” to Russia in Ukraine.
“The current Anglo-Saxon strategists are not hiding their ideas. For now they do, it’s true, hope to defeat Russia using the illegitimate neo-Nazi Kyiv regime, but they’re already preparing Europe for it to also throw itself into this suicidal escapade,” Lavrov mentioned.
Russia isn’t growing its nuclear arsenal and whereas it had suspended participation within the New START treaty with Washington, it might stay guided by the treaty till it expires in 2026, Lavrov mentioned.
“We suspended our participation in it, but we did say that we will comply with the levels, and we will exchange some types of information with the Americans,” he mentioned.
MIDEAST TENSIONS
Lavrov additionally challenged the US over its assist for Israel because the battle with Lebanon’s Hezbollah escalates and the conflict with Palestinian militants Hamas drags on in Gaza.
In a information convention on the U.N., he mentioned the killing of Hezbollah’s chief on Friday was a “political assassination” and raised considerations that Israel could also be looking for to attract Iran right into a direct battle.
“My perception is that there are those who are looking to provoke Iran, to subsequently provoke the United States, and then to unleash a full blown war in the entire region there,” Lavrov mentioned.
Lavrov credited Iran’s management for “behaving extremely responsibly” by not reacting to these provocations.
“It’s important to just stop the bloodshed and stop using terrorist methods for political score settling,” Lavrov mentioned.
