Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said European calls to prepare for a possible war with Russia could become a “self-fulfilling prophecy”, while dismissing warnings of a Russian attack on Europe as “absurd”.
Lavrov made the remarks during his final press conference at the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Ukrainska Pravda reported Sunday (September 27), citing Kremlin-aligned media outlets.
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“We are not going to fight Europe, this is absurd and absurd. But it is Europe that is preparing for war with us… This position may turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy, because they are currently investing huge amounts of money in the production of weapons,” Lavrov said.
He warned that if Europe attacked, Russia “would not hesitate to respond”, citing Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s previous assertions that such a war would end quickly.
Familiar denials
Lavrov’s assurances echo statements made by the Kremlin before previous acts of aggression.
Putin and Russian diplomats have repeatedly denied any plans to attack Ukraine before Russia’s invasion in 2014 and in the days leading up to the full-scale invasion in February 2022.
During his speech to the UN Security Council on Wednesday (September 23), Lavrov used the term “special operation” to refer to the war in Ukraine which is now in its fifth year, while asserting that Ukraine would have retained its 1991 borders if European nations had not “engaged in their shenanigans.”
Other topics of interest
Russian attacks on Kyiv have left one dead and at least ten injured since Saturday
kyiv Mayor Klitschko said a woman and two 16-year-old boys were hospitalized Sunday morning after a strike against a non-residential building in the Shevchenkivskyi district.
Putin made similar statements on Friday (September 25), telling reporters that Russia was “not preparing for any military action against Europe,” while in the same remarks he accused the Baltic states of violating the rights of Russian speakers.
“We already know how to react and we have developed a certain approach in this regard,” Putin said, according to EU Perspectives. “We are responding for humanitarian reasons and within the framework of international law. »
However, Putin gave no examples of the alleged violations and did not specify what that response would look like.
But the Kremlin has long used its claims of protecting Russian-speaking populations to prepare the ground for hostile actions against its neighbors. The same thing happened in Ukraine.
Although frequently used to downplay its aggression, Russia’s rhetoric consistently reflects its long-standing hostility toward the West.
Putin also called security concerns in Estonia “political clowning.”
Two weeks earlier, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev threatened to wipe Lithuania “off the map” if nuclear weapons were deployed there, saying NATO allies would not dare invoke Article 5 on collective defense.
Hybrid “incidents” or direct attacks?
The strengthening of European defense constitutes a response to Russian hybrid attacks, which have, in recent months, almost doubled and visibly intensified.
Russia’s campaign of drone incursions, sabotage and cyberattacks on EU infrastructure has intensified to the point where several EU member states are now describing them as direct attacks.
Lithuania has recently strengthened its defenses around critical infrastructure, while the United States this week confirmed a new troop rotation in the country.
After weeks of escalation between Moscow and Berlin, German and Russian foreign ministers met for the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
In late August, CIA Director John Ratcliffe unexpectedly visited Moscow – for the first time during his tenure as chief – to allegedly dissuade the Kremlin from attacking a NATO country.
At the same summit in New York, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia could target another European country with drones, missiles or even a ground operation in a bid to shatter Western unity and distract from its heavy battlefield losses.
Diplomacy stands
Lavrov’s comments come as kyiv and Washington step up efforts to end the war, urging the Kremlin to join the table in trilateral negotiations.
On Wednesday, 51 countries signed a joint declaration, urging Moscow to accept a complete ceasefire and begin meaningful negotiations.
On Friday, Putin again placed responsibility for the stalled diplomacy on Kyiv.
Zelensky rejected the proposal the next day, saying Putin always finds an excuse not to meet or attend a trilateral discussion.
Ukrainian authorities are systematically pushing for a direct meeting and negotiations with Russian diplomats.
So far, the Kremlin has rejected all proposals – even Zelensky’s public letter to Putin in June, in which he proposed a face-to-face meeting and said he was ready for a complete ceasefire.
Gn world
