Posted on 10/13/2024 11:34:55 AM PDT by delta7
This might be the first time that average Americans read a top Russian official’s views without a filter.
It’s rare nowadays for Russian officials to give interviews to Western media, both because the first suspect that their words won’t be accurately reported while the second fear being “canceled”, which is why it’s so important that Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov just gave a written interview to Newsweek. He concisely summarized his country’s positions on the Ukrainian Conflict, multipolarity, and the US’ upcoming presidential election, which will be reviewed.
Regarding the first, he reaffirmed the official position that Kiev should comply with Putin’s ceasefire request from over the summer and that Moscow wants to address the root causes of this conflict, not just freeze it for some time. The spring 2022 draft peace treaty could form the basis for resuming talks with Ukraine if the latter revokes its decree on banning them, though some details would have to change. He also warned against letting Ukraine use Western long-range weapons deep inside of Russia.
As for the second, Lavrov emphasized the regional dimension of multipolarity by referencing several leading blocs before describing BRICS as a model of multilateral diplomacy and confirming the importance of the UN as a forum for aligning the interests of all countries. Respect for one another’s interests, a greater say in global governance for developing countries, and mutual cooperation are considered the driving forces behind this trend. China also shares Russia’s views on this too, he said.
Lavrov doesn’t expect that anything will change in Russian-US relations after the election regardless of who wins since both parties are committed to countering his country. The Kremlin will consider whatever new proposals might be made in the event that this happens, however, thus leaving open the possibility for improving their ties if the will exists on the US’ side and it respects Russia’s interests. He ended by hoping that the US will stop looking for adventures abroad, but this comes off as wishful thinking.
There’s nothing novel in what he said and those who’ve been following this conflict closely won’t learn anything by reading his interview, but the importance rests in the fact that average Americans might hear more about Russia’s actual policies towards these subjects for the first time. They’ve mostly been insulated from this since it hasn’t been accurately reported by their media until now. To Newsweek’s credit, they shared Lavrov’s responses without any editorializing too, thus removing the usual filter.
None of this means that average Americans will now all of a sudden agree with everything that Russia is aiming to achieve in Ukraine and the world more broadly, nor might they be disabused of the false perception that it’s meddling in support of Trump, but it might warm some of them up to these ideas. Depending on the battlefield progress in the coming months, the outcome of the election, and next month’s G20 Summit in Rio, the trappings of a realistic compromise might finally begin to appear.
In that scenario, other Mainstream Media outlets might follow Newsweek’s lead by requesting interviews with Lavrov and other Russian officials. The purpose would be to precondition the public for accepting that the West’s maximalist goals in this proxy war aren’t realistic and that some of Russia’s goals aren’t as threatening as they were earlier portrayed. Of course, it’s also possible that nothing might happen, in which case this interview will stand out as an exception instead of the start of a new trend.
“ The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) claimed to have viewed the 17-page draft Russian-Ukrainian peace treaty from spring 2022 that was sabotaged by former British Prime Minister Johnson and which President Putin waved around while speaking with African leaders last summer. They dishonestly described the terms as “punishing” even though they can objectively be described as overly generous considering the previously unthinkable compromises that Moscow was willing to make at the time.
Ukraine would have restored its constitutional neutrality and the Russian language’s status, limited its armed forces, agreed not to use foreign arms, and recognized Russian influence in Crimea in exchange for the UNSC guaranteeing its security. Donbass’ status would be resolved via talks between their leaders, with the innuendo being that it might be reincorporated into Ukraine per the Minsk Accords, while it’s implied that Russia would have withdrawn from the rest of Ukraine’s pre-2022 borders.….
https://korybko.substack.com/p/whyd-the-wall-street-journal-suddenly
Lavrov’s warning:
“ The United States will face “dangerous consequences” if it presses on with growing military aid to Ukraine rather than backing a proposed Russian settlement that would see Moscow take over swathes of territory, the man serving as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top diplomat for 20 years said in exclusive responses to Newsweek questions.
Well over two and a half years after Putin ordered a “special military operation” against Ukraine, invading the country in what has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin offers a viable blueprint to end the bloodshed and revamp the security architecture of the continent. He accused the U.S.-led NATO military alliance of first sowing the seeds of war a decade ago and continuing to fan the flames. They accuse Russia of unprovoked agression and expansionism.
Russia is open to a politico-diplomatic settlement that should remove the root causes of the crisis,” he said. “It should aim to end the conflict rather than achieve a ceasefire.”
Russia’s plan would mean Ukraine ceding the substantially Russian held provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, which were formally annexed by Moscow following an internationally disputed referendum in September 2022, as well as Crimea, seized by Russia and annexed through a similar vote in 2014. Kyiv must also agree to abandon its quest to become a NATO member, and take other steps rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his international supporters, including the U.S.
Kyiv and its foreign backers instead demand an unconditional Russian withdrawal, while Moscow has said an escalating conflict brings NATO closer to a direct clash with Russia, which possesses the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.
“At present, as far as we can see, restoring peace is not part of our adversary’s plan. Zelensky has not revoked his decree banning negotiations with Moscow,” Lavrov said. “Washington and its NATO allies provide political, military and financial support to Kiev so that the war would go on. They are discussing authorizing the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] to use Western long-range missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. ‘Playing with fire’ in this way may lead to dangerous consequences.”
The measures sought by Moscow, Lavrov said, align with the trajectory of a fast-changing world in which Russia has forged a deep partnership with China and has fortified ties with developing nations seeking a greater say on the global stage. Even as Moscow incurs costs, he said that Kyiv and its supporters stand to lose the most in a long war.
“What we have in mind is that the world order needs be adjusted to the current realities,” he said. “Today the world is living through the ‘multipolar moment’. Shifting towards the multi-polar world order is a natural part of power rebalancing, which reflects objective changes in the world economy, finance and geopolitics. The West waited longer than the others, yet it has also started to realize that this process is irreversible.”
Lavrov’s remarks come as the Russian military advances on several key Ukrainian fronts despite simultaneously battling a Ukrainian counterstrike within Russia itself.
Crucial to the course of the war could be the result of the U.S. presidential election on November 5 between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. Support for Ukraine has been the subject of political infighting in Western capitals and not least in Washington, which has provided the greatest direct assistance.
“Generally speaking, the outcome of this election makes no difference to us, as the two parties have reached a consensus as to countering our country,” Lavrov said. “On the whole, it would be natural for the White House resident, no matter who they are, to mind their domestic business, rather than looking for adventures tens of thousands miles away from American coasts. I am confident that U.S. electors think the same.”
The Istanbul Agreements initialed on 29 March 2022 by the Russian and Ukrainian delegations could serve as a basis for the settlement. They provide for Kiev’s refusal to join NATO and contain security guarantees for Ukraine while recognizing the realities on the ground at that moment. Needless to say, in over two years, these realities have considerably changed, including in legal terms.
On 14 June, President Vladimir Putin listed prerequisites for the settlement as follows: complete AFU withdrawal from the DPR [Donetsk People’s Republic], LPR [Luhansk People’s Republic], Zaporozhye and Kherson Oblasts; recognition of territorial realities as enshrined in the Russian Constitution; neutral, non-bloc, non-nuclear status for Ukraine; its demilitarization and denazification; securing the rights, freedoms and interests of Russian-speaking citizens; and removal of all sanctions against Russia.
Kiev responded to this statement by an armed incursion into the Kursk Oblast on 6 August. Its patrons – the U.S. and other NATO countries – seek to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Under the circumstances, we have no choice but to continue our special military operation until the threats posed by Ukraine are removed……more QA with Lavrov….
https://www.newsweek.com/exclusive-russias-lavrov-warns-dangerous-consequences-us-ukraine-1964468
Can anyone imagine HeelsUp being able to “concisely summarize” the US position with a potential outcome of nuclear war, if an important detail or two came across poorly?
*** This might be the first time that average Americans read a top Russian official’s views without a filter ***
He is praised by many as the top diplomat in the world. I have seen Western Media post captions such as Lavrov shunned at Summit when photos show a room full of officials waiting to greet him.
He is praised by many as the top diplomat in the world.
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So wasn’t Ribbentrop.
Ukraine’s nazi battalions were conducting a genocide on the Russian speaking people’s in Ukraine.
Russia went to war to prevent this
All there is to it.
View all geopolitics through the prism of oil.
It is far too easy to spiral down into details that really don’t determine anything.
Oil does. Oil is everything.
Ukraine has none of consequence. The bible of oil from BP for about 70 years now lists 0. As in Zero.
Russia is vastly endowed, with huge swaths of territory under which there is undoubtedly more.
THEY ARE GOING TO WIN. That is the overriding truth and eventually it will be inescapable. Putin has given speeches after conferences at Rosneft that has made clear this is the path to eventual Russian dominance.
There is one and only one way to stop this. The US will have to step forward on the international stage and announce that it intends to invade Russia for the specific purpose of taking that oil.
THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN. The political will just won’t ever appear.
It is the deciding reality of the world. Russia will run out last. Simply that.
And how are the “inter agencies” taking all this?
Yesterday I posted the Newsweek article the Substack references and every Zeeper came slithering out of the Langley troll sewer with blood spitting out of their eyes.
They can’t handle the truth - of hearing the actual viewpoint of the enemy.
Peace will never come without listening to the enemy. Newsweek is doing it. Zeepers are not.
Especially Uncle Coprolite or whatever his Nom de Guerre. It was astonishing.
Russians have been genocidally erasing and mass murdering their neighbors for literally centuries. And that’s all there is too it. Nazism has to returned to Europe. This time it comes from the filth and scum of the Russian World.
So any idea why a significant part of the Ukr military are those Russian speaking people and their commander in chief is a Russian, who graduated from the Moscow military academy and served in Afghanistan as the Red Army officer ? Why those Russian speaking people in Kharkiv or Odessa aren't revolting against nazis ? Is it because CIA deep state biolabs turned them into globo homo nazis ?
“Lavrov emphasized the regional dimension of multipolarity by referencing several leading blocs before describing BRICS as a model of multilateral diplomacy and confirming the importance of the UN as a forum for aligning the interests of all countries. Respect for one another’s interests, a greater say in global governance for developing countries, and mutual cooperation are considered the driving forces behind this trend. China also shares Russia’s views on this too, he said.”
One doesn’t need Lavrov to hear about that crap, it’s enough to read some Peeper posts around here.
Especially Uncle Coprolite or whatever his Nom de Guerre. It was astonishing.
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Hate, pure and simple. The Russian Derangement Syndrome, much like the Trump Derangement Syndrome…..both manufactured by the War cheerleaders and Democrats….with a few Republicans in the mix.
They have been had, played.
Russians have been genocidally erasing and mass murdering their neighbors for literally centuries
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The US has been mass murdering for a long time, Bosnia, Gulf War 1, 2, Libya, Somalia, Afghanistan, and on and on…the forever wars.
The US has been mass murdering for a long time
Said every America hating Marxist ever. It’s always amusing to see the obvious alliance of Marixst Democrats and armchair populists. It should no surprise given the intellectual bankruptcy of both hobbies.
True, sir.
If you are just a typical Russian MOD social media worker then you need to up your game. Nobody believes that BS talking point anymore.
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