The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, today considered that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) prefers war by rejecting the freezing of the conflict in Ukraine.
“If Nato, through the mouth of [Jens] Stoltenberg (secretary general), again says that it is against freezing, as they say, the conflict in Ukraine, then they want war,” Lavrov told Russian state television.
Stoltenberg said on Monday that the Atlantic Alliance will support Ukraine as long as necessary, but warned against freezing the conflict in exchange for an end to hostilities.
The solution, according to Stoltenberg, cannot be based on a “peace dictated” by Moscow, but rather on a successful counter-offensive by Kiev to retake territory occupied by Russian troops.
“Let them fight then. We are ready,” Lavrov replied, quoted by Spanish news agency EFE.
According to the Russian foreign minister, Moscow “has long understood NATO’s objectives in Ukraine”.
NATO’s supply of weapons, provision of intelligence and training of Ukrainian military personnel are “de facto” proof that the alliance is directly involved in a war against Russia, he added.
Moscow has accused the West of waging a “proxy war” against Russia through Ukraine.
The current armed conflict between the two neighbouring countries began on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine to “demilitarise and denazify” it.
NATO and Ukraine’s other Western allies have been supplying arms to Kiev to counter the Russian invasion.
Ukraine’s allies have also imposed economic sanctions on Moscow to try to curb Russia’s ability to fund the war.
