Maria Zakharova: "This is a False Flag War."

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova today answered questions from International Affairs magazine about the results of the NATO summit thus providing us with yet another official point-of-view that as one can see from the headline already differs somewhat from Russia’s previous descriptive rhetoric. If readers are already familiar with Ms. Zakharova’s own rhetorical style, you won’t be surprised to read her assessments. Those who have yet to encounter her words will find them more explicit and less diplomatic than Mr. Lavrov’s, which in some cases seem to be warranted. Eventually, readers will get provided with the entirety of her Weekly Briefings, which this week was delayed because of the Vilnius meeting. Of course, she’s partisan but remains very objective as Russian policy doesn’t see any advantage in bending the truth, so the very rare “no comment” reply means I’d rather not say—a habit the West needs to learn. The following Q&A session is short, but there’re several quotable passages. All emphasis is mine:

Question: The results of the NATO summit held in Vilnius on July 11-12 once again demonstrated that the alliance, in which the Anglo-Saxons play the main fiddle, makes decisions aimed, in fact, at sponsoring terrorism in the region. One gets the impression that the supply of prohibited weapons by the member countries of the alliance to the Kyiv regime is aimed at preparing for war with Russia. Do you agree with these statements?

Maria Zakharova: In fact, NATO is already waging a hybrid war with Russia, the instrument of which is the Kiev regime. It is pumped up with weapons, military equipment. The countries of the alliance are actively involved in the training of militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to their standards, they plan to train and then transplant Ukrainians to Western fighters. All this is complemented by economic blackmail and illegal sanctions against both Russia and other countries that have not caved in to the Anglo-Saxons. It is no secret that the states of the North Atlantic bloc share intelligence with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, take part in the planning of military operations. At the same time, formally, NATO stands aside. Declares that he is not a party to the conflict and does not seek confrontation with Russia. Actually, this is a false flag war. In pursuit of an attempt to maintain some kind of superiority, and, in fact, neocolonialism, Washington and its allies consistently use the population of Ukraine as cannon fodder. They are methodically working to destroy the economies of European states in order to eliminate them as competitors in world markets. At the same time, they are solving the problems of enriching American companies and enterprises, including the military-industrial complex, whose products will be purchased by Europeans.

We categorically reject the logic of the Westerners, which is that military assistance to Ukraine is designed to bring a political and diplomatic settlement closer. They are simply not interested in the end of hostilities, but, on the contrary, benefit from the ongoing crisis of the security system in the European space. The main goal of Washington and its satellites is to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia and maintain its dominant influence in the international arena. For the sake of it, they are ready with all their might to seek from the puppet regime of Zelensky the continuation of the "war to the last Ukrainian." One gets the impression that at the NATO summit a decision was made and even declared - to unfold a major European war.

However, no supply of Western weapons and equipment can change the course of the special military operation, the goals and objectives of which will certainly be fulfilled, as the Russian leadership has repeatedly stated.

Question: On the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11-12, French President Emmanuel Macron announced new military supplies to Ukraine, including SCALP cruise missiles. How would you comment on this?

Maria Zakharova: After the provision of Caesar self-propelled guns, Coastal air defense systems and AMX-10RC tanks, the French leadership made another irresponsible decision to supply the Kyiv regime with SCALP long-range missiles. Thus, Paris purposefully and consciously took another step towards the escalation of the Ukrainian conflict, reaffirmed its bet on the methodical and uninterrupted pumping of Kiev terrorists with increasingly deadly weapons systems aimed at new Russian territories, civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Paris is immoral, supporting with weapons those who glorify the Nazis, and themselves profess fascist logic. The indecisive government in France betrays the memory of Charles de Gaulle and the anti-fascist ancestors.

Taking into account Emmanuel Macron's recent statement that the so-called counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was carefully planned with the support of NATO countries, the international community should have no doubts about the direct involvement of the United States and its Euro-Atlantic allies in the conflict. The life and health of many thousands of people become a bargaining chip when the countries of the "collective West" realize their own political interests.

Question: How would you comment on the alliance's aggressive behavior towards China?

Maria Zakharova: At the summit, it was noted that Beijing's "power policy and ambitions" are a challenge to the interests, security and values of the alliance. Name me a country that has no ambition. Are China not worried about US ambitions? Step by step, NATO is trying to root a negative image of the Celestial Empire in the minds of ordinary people, in order to subsequently talk about the threat to the West now from Beijing. NATO countries are already making efforts to create so-called "small geometry" coalitions in the Asia-Pacific region with their like-minded people. For example, AUKUS and KUAD. They want to stake out their reference points in the region in order to subsequently impose their own orders through them. Another potential hotbed of tension is being artificially created and its main task is to eliminate China, as well as Russia, as the main geopolitical competitors. The Asia-Pacific countries see all this ins and outs and have so far refrained from participating in the confrontational schemes of Washington and its satellites.

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As you read, Russia is well aware of how the West shapes public opinion via its Establishment Narrative delivered by BigLie Media and as Lavrov and Putin observe is very Orwellian. It’s also possible to see the shared perspectives of China and Russia in Ms. Zakharova’s commentary. It’s also important to know that the audience here isn’t just Russia but the RoW (Rest of the World) because the Ukraine crisis is but one facet of the overall Big Picture.