The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergei Lavrov, answers the questions of journalists and readers of ” Komsomolskaia Pravda.”
Originally appeared at KP; Appeared in Bulgarian at Memoriabg; Translated by Valentina Tzoneva exclusively for SouthFront
Komsomolskaia Pravda: Sergei Viktorovich, good day.
Sergey Lavrov: Hello.
Komsomolskaia Pravda: “Let’s take the bull by the horns straight away. We received hundreds of frankly disturbing calls. The situation in our country is extremely difficult. They tried to crush us with sanctions. NATO is already touching our borders, the are creating a system for anti-missile defence. In the foreign media, there is an unprecedented demonization of our country.
They do not want to hear us. At the head of this process is the United States. President Obama said that the American nation is exceptional and that other countries must play by the rules written by the USA. To us, evidently, the role of vassals does not suit us. Are we eternally doomed to rivalry and confrontation by the consolidated West, led by the USA, which can turn into a confrontation at any moment and let’s not talk about the more dramatic scenario?”
Alexander Shmelev writes directly: “The people are increasingly talking that there is going to be war. How serious are these concerns?”
Lavrov: There will not be any world war. This was stated by President Putin in the movie of Vladimir Soloviov. And I am convinced that the responsible politicians will not allow this to happen, even from the side of the West. Because everyone still remembers the horrors of the First and Second World Wars. Russia suffered the greatest losses during the war in Europe. China, by the way, suffered the greatest losses during the war in the Pacific Ocean against the Japanese militarism. And the politicians, I repeat, can not allow this to happen. Of course, we can rely on others, but above all, we have to think about our readiness to prevent the fueling of a new war.
These attempts are made in relation to increasing of military potential over its reasonable sufficiency and they are also in violation of international agreements. You mentioned the anti-missile defence. In 2001, the USA withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. And at that time, George W. Bush told Vladimir Putin in response to his concerns: “Don’t worry, this is not against you. I understand that you will have to take some retaliating measures. Do whatever you see fit.”
We have to remember this when some of our nervous neighbours from Eastern Europe comment on our quiet alerts, that in case the military infrastructure of NATO gets close to our borders, we will take retaliatory steps. They forget about this and blame Russia for everything.
By the way, we are blamed for the Ukrainian crisis – just like that. And about Syria, they say that we are obliged, we are responsible too. Now they want us to help in Libya. Soon, maybe they will blame us for the events taking place in Yemen. This is a conscious strategy. I have no doubts about it.
From the beginning of the 20th Century, if we speak frankly, even from earlier times, even from the time of Ivan Grozni, no one wanted a strong and self-confident Russia. But it can be seen, during the last century, during the entire century, the British together with the Americans, did everything to prevent the integrity of a united Eurasia. This refers to the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and what is happening now regarding efforts for encouraging the integration process in the post-Soviet space.
All this fits in the concept of Zbigniew Brzezinski’s book, ‘The Grand Chessboard’, where he directly sets the task: do not allow the barbarians to unite. Of course, he uses figurative speech, but it is a clear indication of the direction of his thoughts.
Now we have a question – what to do. Demonization – yes, it is here. I do not see anything frightening in it. We have to get used to it. Our partners in the course of history, with a few exceptions, have never been honest with us. Remember Churchill’s speech at Fulton a few months after the end of the WW2, after the big joint victory of the allied forces.
During the war, Churchill, who publicly admired Stalin, and who praised the Soviet Union as a solid partner and ally, gave a speech which turned into a symbol of the beginning of the Cold War. I do not want to mention anything that some may use against me and accuse me of paranoia but… now, in connection with the events taking place in Hiroshima in the context of “the seven” (G7) and Obama’s visit, there were discussions in our country in the media and in the society about the reasons for the decision of the Americans to drop the bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It is common knowledge that Truman seriously considered the same fate for 20 Soviet cities. I repeat that we have to be friends with everyone and in good relationship with everyone. This is our principle. The concept of foreign policy is multifaceted and includes readiness for partnership, cooperation with everyone who is ready to cooperate on equal, mutually beneficial basis, taking into account the interests of others. But in promoting this line, we must remember very well who our main allies are – these are the army, the navy, and the air-space forces.
Regarding the sanctions – Ukraine was only a reason for exacerbation of this sanctions campaign. Because the strategy to contain Russia began to show itself much earlier. As soon as they realized that since the year 2000, with the arrival of President Putin, that Russia wants to be above all, independent in its external affairs, in her internal affairs and her economic politics – as soon as they realized it, they started looking for ways to deter us.
Don’t forget that the “Magnitski law” was adopted long before the events in Ukraine. Now in relation to this law, numerous facts have come up and numerous documentaries (which are, by the way, forbidden in Europe) have proven that the death of Sergei Magnitski is a result of the huge affair of Brauder, who is an unscrupulous rogue, nevertheless, the sanctions were implemented.
After this, Obama cancelled his visit to Moscow in the eve of the G20 Summit in St Peterburg in September 2013 because he felt insulted that Snowden, who ran away from the NSA, asked for asylum in our country. First, we were forced to accept him due to humanitarian reasons, and secondly, because his passport was revoked while flying. He had no document that would allow him to leave Russia. They again took offence and began to frighten and threaten, although not as fierce as in connection with Ukraine.
This is what I am going to say: I have already spoken about it. We perceive the economic constraints that are applied to us as a window of opportunity; opportunities that must be used optimally in order to strengthen our food security, our technological security, the continuation of diversification in the economic sector and in international relations and finally, to create alternative effective financial mechanisms and systems for payments. I would say it this way: for us the question of when the anti-Russian sanctions will be lifted is irrelevant. We did not introduce them and we are not going to discuss any terms and conditions. For us, the key question is how to effectively use the present situation for the best interests of our economy and our development.
Komsomolskaia Pravda: The next topic is Ukraine. The Minsk Process has been going on for more than a year. Many consider that the process is stalled and can not bring in positive results. Is there any hope that the Minsk Agreement will ever come to fruition?
Lavrov: I am positive that there is such hope. And it is not only hope. We must demand their implementation, which is something that we are doing. The Minsk Agreement is a result of very difficult negotiations on the highest level and then they were signed by Kiev, Donetsk, Lugansk, Russia, France and Germany.
This is the only document specifying the obligations of the countries in the conflict, with guarantees from the European side and Russia. We should not allow this document to follow the fate of the agreement of 21 February 2014, when in the presence of witnesses from France, Germany and Poland an agreement was signed between Yanukovich, Yatsenuk, Klichko and Tiahnibok and the very next morning this agreement was trampled. At that time, our French, German and Polish colleagues were silent and embarassed.
And now if they allow those who performed the coup d’etat and are the major political force in the Ukrainian establishment to do the same with another document, this will make us lose face, including UN Security Council, which ratified the agreement without any changes, and in the form in which it was it was signed.
Again we are discussing the situation of the chicken and the egg – what has been there before, and what had to follow. Now, all of a sudden, the problem of security is the most important problem for President Poroshenko. And it is not only about the cessation of fire, but ensuring the security by some international forces on the territory of Donbas. This was not anticipated in the Minsk Agreement. Donbas will never accept it. And according to the Minsk Agreement, all steps for regulations, without any exceptions, must be coordinated with Donbas.
In relation to security on the demarcation line, we strongly support the realistic increase in the role and responsibilities of the mission of the OSCE, as well as the increased number of observers. The Ukrainians say that the political reforms will begin only when there is a 100% guarantee for security, in the time frame of several weeks or months. This is unrealistic. This will never happen. This does not occur in any conflict until the political aspects of a crisis are resolved. And in relation to the political aspects, the ball is Kiev’s court. This applies primarily to the status of Donbas, which is included in the Minsk Agreement, and had to be dressed in a law for a special status and cemented permanently in the Constitution of Ukraine.
The last step that must be taken within the frame of the special status cemented in the Constitution, are the elections. And all these questions – literally – must be coordinated with these regions – Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as they call them there. We do not see anything of this sort happening although efforts are being made continuously. It is in the frame of the contact group, that it is only placed possible for a direct dialogue between Kiev, Donetsk, and Luhansk; in the Normandy format, which cannot replace the contact group, despite how much Kiev and even Berlin and Paris may desire it; the frame of a contact group is the only place for a direct dialogue. When we were talking about the necessity of a direct dialogue between Donbas and Kiev, a German participant in the process was cynical and impudent to say, “why do you need a direct dialogue? You can press them in 15 minutes.” Literally.
Komsomolskaia Pravda: It’s better for them to press Kiev.
Lavrov: This is exactly what I wanted to say in conclusion to your question. But it seems to me that not only Germany and France and many others in Europe, but the United States as well, understand that Kiev simply does not fulfill the obligations undertaken by their President.
