Media Duel Update

Further press interview of Lavrov and MFA statement as promised

After his talk at the conference, which will be reported on in a separate article, Lavrov was asked a Q by UK media then it was decided to hold a short press conference centered around the MFA’s Press Release about the massive multiday/night drone attacks by Ukraine. Having my usual Friday duties to perform, I left the link to the Sputnik article about it all since it was a good synopsis in English:

From May 20 to 8 a.m. on May 23, Ukraine launched a record 788 combat drones targeting civilian areas and peaceful citizens in Russia. All attacks were intercepted, but sadly, there were casualties. The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement on this, widely shared with other countries and international organizations.

Now I can provide the MFA PR statement:

The Kiev regime does not stop terror against the civilian population and civilian objects in many Russian regions, including Moscow.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, for the period from May 20 to 08.00 on May 23, a multiple increase was recorded: 788 raids of aircraft-type UAVs and Western-made missiles on the territory of the Russian Federation, and outside the zone of the Special Military Operation. Our air defense forces destroyed 776 drones and missiles, 12 UAVs, unfortunately, reached the target.

There are dead and wounded. On May 22, as a result of an attack on the village of Panteleymonovka in the DPR, 8 people were injured. On the same day, in the Vasilyevsky municipal district of the Zaporozhye region, a girl born in 1990 was killed as a result of drone strikes, four children were injured—10, 9, 8 years old and a one-year-old child. On the night of May 23, as a result of the fall of a downed UAV, which caused a fire in the industrial zone of the city of Yelets, Lipetsk region, 8 people were injured. In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched two strikes with Himars missiles on civilian targets in the city of Lgov, Kursk region, where people, including two children, were also injured.

It should also be noted that after the Kursk region was cleared of Ukrainian servicemen, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to try to wedge into our territory and strike with UAVs, as well as long-range artillery and missiles.

Under these conditions, the President of the Russian Federation was forced to make a decision to create a security zone in the adjacent territory in order to minimize the possibility of infiltration by the Armed Forces of Ukraine and strikes on our border areas using various means of destruction.

Another barbaric terrorist act by the Kiev regime was undertaken in an attempt to disrupt the process of direct Russian-Ukrainian talks aimed at a final settlement of the conflict, which was resumed with the assistance of the US administration, and to prevent the implementation of the first agreements agreed in Istanbul on May 16, including a large-scale exchange of prisoners of war.

The course taken by the Ukrainian "party of war" also includes violations of the so-called "energy" and Easter truces, which Russia strictly observed, as well as the ceasefire we announced during the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory.

Of course, Russia will give an adequate response to massive terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime. Unlike the Ukrainian side, only military facilities and enterprises of the military-industrial complex will be chosen as targets.

But, we emphasize, our principled commitment to a constructive search for ways of peaceful settlement through dialogue remains unchanged. [My Emphasis]

Some will challenge the MFA’s interpretation of the rationale for the attacks, although it’s clear to realists that there’s clearly a “[party of war” pursuing Nazi-like goals of trying to kill as many Russians as possible as with Plan Ost which their forebearers played a significant role murdering tens of thousands.

We now move on to the short presser, Lavrov speaking:

Starting from May 20 and until 8 a.m. today, May 23, the Ukrainian side launched a record number of combat drones (788) against civilian targets and civilians of the Russian Federation. All attacks were repelled, although, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded. We have issued a special statement by the Foreign Ministry on this matter. It is widely distributed among states and international organisations.

We believe that this behaviour is a direct consequence of the support of the Ukrainian Nazis, primarily by some European countries led by Britain, France, Germany and the leadership of the European Union. We are convinced that they bear their share of responsibility for these crimes. We will firmly strive to put an end to this policy.

There is an obvious attempt to disrupt the peace talks and undermine the process that was launched in Istanbul following the agreement between President of Russia Vladimir Putin and President of the United States Donald Trump. It provided for a thousand-for-thousand exchange of prisoners of war and the continuation of work on documents that will formulate specific conditions and requirements that must be met for the conclusion of agreements. We will continue this work despite any provocations.

Question: Will Russia continue to strive for a peaceful settlement?

Sergey Lavrov: We remain committed to a peaceful settlement. We are always open to talks. President of Russia Vladimir Putin has repeatedly confirmed this publicly and in his talks with foreign figures.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that we have complied with all the goodwill gestures that we have made, including the truce on the occasion of Orthodox Easter and Victory Day, as well as the truce in the form of a month-long moratorium on attacks on energy infrastructure, which was announced after the conversation between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. All of them were thwarted by Ukraine, which continued its aggressive and criminal actions during the pauses in hostilities that we announced.

I would like to emphasise once again that we are also committed to the agreements that were reached recently in Istanbul between the delegations of Russia and Ukraine. We are completing our preparatory work to draw up a list for the exchange of prisoners of war on the principle of "one thousand for a thousand".

We are actively working on the second part of the agreements, which provides for the preparation by each of the parties of a draft document setting out the conditions for achieving a stable, long-term and comprehensive settlement agreement. As soon as the exchange of prisoners of war is completed, by this time we will be ready to hand over to the Ukrainian side a draft of such a document, which the Russian side is now finalizing.

Question: You said that international organisations will be informed of the Foreign Ministry's statement. What reaction do you expect from them?

Sergey Lavrov: I proceed from the premise that the response should be based on the fundamental documents that underpin the activities of the United Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and other multilateral organisations, and which require the unconditional exclusion of any attacks on civilian targets during hostilities. This is also required by numerous conventions that define the principles of international humanitarian law.

All these years, they have been trampled on by the Kiev regime, which violates the rules of engagement that are generally accepted throughout the world, ignores and generally questions its ability to be a responsible member of the international community.

We are waiting for the UN's response. Moreover, the comments that we hear from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his official representatives during the special military operation show an unwillingness or inability to be guided by their direct duties, primarily compliance with the principles of the UN Charter.

Question: In recent weeks, a whole "landing force" of EU and European bureaucrats has landed in Kiev: Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, Merz, Kaja Kallas and others. After that, as if on cue, the terrorist attacks of the Kiev regime literally multiplied. Do you see this direct connection? Are Vladimir Zelensky's curators responsible for the killing of civilians?

Sergey Lavrov: I think that it is impossible not to see this direct connection.

Those who patronise the Kiev regime, including the characters you mentioned, do not hide this. It is no coincidence that when they hysterically try to oppose our policy of resolving the root causes of the conflict with their idea of declaring an immediate truce without any preconditions, they mean, among other things, that this wording makes it possible to continue pumping weapons into the Kiev regime.

From their public statements, it is clear that this is a position that they do not want to give up. And by doing so, they are fuelling the conflict, Vladimir Zelensky and his team so that they continue their criminal actions.

Of course, there is a European responsibility here. I think that when we consider the consequences of this conflict (I hope that this will happen after the settlement), it will be difficult to evade responsibility.

Question: Don't you think that the above-mentioned Western European leaders are simply trying to undermine US President Donald Trump's efforts to peacefully mediate a settlement of the crisis in Ukraine? Maybe they are jealous?

Sergey Lavrov: I don't think this is about envy. They are simply used to living with the previous administration, which led anti-Russian actions and encouraged European capitals to do so in every possible way.

But now, when the administration has changed in Washington, it has become obvious that it was just convenient for them under the Biden administration. But they wanted the entire Western community to remain united in the fight against the Russian Federation (as they declared) in order to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia on the battlefield.

If we now analyse the statements and other information about the policy pursued by London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, the capitals of the Baltic countries and Warsaw, it becomes obvious that they cannot give up this declared goal. They have staked their entire reputation on dragging Europe into a war against Russia, in order to carry out the militarisation of Europe under this "sauce" (by 2030, as you know), huge funds are being allocated. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz proclaimed that his goal was to make Germany again the main, the most powerful military power in Europe, with the largest conventional army. These are alarming signals. I think that reminiscences about historical precedents create a very disturbing picture here.

Another explanation for these actions. They have not lost hope of using certain circles in the United States to return President Donald Trump and his administration to their anti-Russia camp and share responsibility with the United States. They like to relieve themselves of responsibility. But I am sure that this time it will not work. [My Emphasis]

Yogi Berra: “It’s deja vu all over again.” Of course, the Outlaw US Empire is the entity primarily responsible for starting the Aggressive War against Ukraine and its Russian speaking population, the #1 War Crime, which although the EU was told to “Fuck-off” still participated via NATO from the outset. Trump’s main goal, as noted many times by myself and others, is to try and avoid being held culpable for the Empire’s criminality that he actively engaged and continues to engage in—who aided the Himars attacks? What entity continues to supply vital ISR data? Money, weapons, drugs, etc. A great deal of WW2 history was recently reviewed so many people ought to see the parallels between what was gestating in the 1930s and what’s occurring now within the defeated NATO/EU structure, although it must be noted participation isn’t 100% as some members are dissenting.

In the comment thread to the initial article, a portion of The Guardian’s propaganda was provided and implied that the conference Lavrov was speaking at was something akin to hard-right Russian nationalism; it was entitled, Historical Russian Lands. National Identity and Self-Determination of Peoples. This was one of the Ambassadorial Conferences Lavrov had mentioned would be reconvening a few days ago in which all accredited ambassadorial people are invited to attend. Their aim is to be informational so those people can do a better job in building relations between their nations and Russia. Briefly looking over the transcript, I can see several opportunities for propaganda. Readers will have a chance soon enough to read what those are. I will suggest despite the quality of the chat being poor the exchange between Nima and Dmirty Orlov that happened earlier today.

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