Lavrov: Western Russia Invasion Claims ‘Propaganda, Fakes and Fiction’

By Staff, Agencies 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lashed out at Western officials who have been peddling the purported threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. 

“Apparently, they do it for the sheer pleasure of accusing Moscow,” he said, noting that “I am certain that even casual observers of foreign policy have long confirmed to themselves that all of it is propaganda, fake news, fiction.”

He suggested that Western officials making such claims simply like doing it. “If they enjoy it, let them take their time getting the pleasure,” he said.

Lavrov called out several senior officials, including UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, for their accusations against Moscow and for fueling public anxiety over a possible war in Ukraine. Whatever Russia does, Western governments keep talking about how the country is threatening Ukraine, the foreign minister said.

“[They allege] that even if Russia pulls back its troops, the threat will still be there. They are laying the ground for the future,” he said. Even after Russia’s military exercises are over and its troops are back at their home bases, their supposed threat will remain “forever and ever,” Lavrov said.

Lavrov said he expects to continue talks with his US counterpart over how Russia and the West can reconcile their expectations for the future of European security. This week, Russia published a formal response to comments on the issue it received from the US. Moscow accused its opponents of cherry-picking parts of its suggestions on how to deflate tensions, while ignoring Moscow’s essential concerns for its safety due to NATO expansion and other threats posed by Western powers.

Lavrov and Blinken “agreed that after Russia sends its response and they study our vision of the situation, he would be prepared to meet,” the official said.