‘If It Depends On Us, There Will Be No War’: Russia’s Lavrov On Ukraine Tensions

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Lavrov's statement comes after the US and allies threatened to shelve Nord Stream 2 and also submitted a draft proposal as a way out of the crisis.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia does not want to go into a war with Ukraine but it will not allow its interests to remain ignored, according to a report by news agency AFP.

“If it depends on Russia, there will be no war. We do not want wars. We will also not allow our interests to be ignored,” Lavrov was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. Lavrov was attending a meeting with heads of four Russian radio stations. Lavrov also highlighted that the Kremlin will view personal sanctions on Russian president Vladimir Putin and removal of Russia from the SWIFT banking system as moves akin to severing of ties.

Lavrov’s comments come hours after the US, NATO and allies offered a ‘new diplomatic path’ to Russia. The new measures proposed by the US does not cede to Russia over the demand that Ukraine will never be made part of NATO but offers a secondary deal where the US and NATO will address mutual security concerns, including reductions of missiles in Europe and transparency on military drills and the military aid being offered to Ukraine.

Lavrov said that the new offer made by the US has ‘grains of rationality’ in the secondary proposal. “I was a little ashamed for the people who wrote these texts,” he was quoted as saying.

His comments also come after the US said it received positive communication from Germany regarding the shelving of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Earlier on Thursday, the US said that it is in touch with Germany over shelving the gas pipeline as part of economic sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine. “I want to be very clear: if Russia invades Ukraine one way or another, Nord Stream 2 will not move forward,” US state spokesperson Ned Price said. “I think the statements coming out of Berlin even today are very, very strong. We will work with Germany to ensure that the pipeline does not move forward,” another senior official said.

US president Joe Biden also invited German chancellor Olaf Scholz on February 7 for a bilateral meeting and the Ukrainian issue is expected to feature during the discussions.

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