Lavrov applauds Trump's stance on Ukraine and NATO dynamics
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, praised Donald Trump for stating that the previous US support for Ukraine's efforts to join NATO was one of the main reasons for the outbreak of the war.
Many of the reports provided by Russian media or representatives of the government are elements of propaganda. Such information is part of the information war conducted by the Russian Federation.
– He is the first, and so far, in my opinion, the only Western leader who has publicly and loudly said that one of the root causes of the Ukrainian situation was the impudent line of the previous administration to draw Ukraine into NATO – stated Sergey Lavrov after returning from Riyadh, praising Donald Trump for his shocking claims.
For Russia, which – as Lavrov said – is preparing to work with the US, it's a clear signal that the President of the United States "understands their position."
Trump criticizes Ukraine
Trump stated that he did not see any possibility for Russia to allow Ukraine to join NATO and blamed former US President Joe Biden for the alleged change in the United States' stance on Ukraine's membership in the alliance.
The President of the US openly criticised Ukraine, saying that Kyiv should have ended the war at its very beginning by making a deal with Russia. He also suggested that Ukraine started it, criticised Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and supported the demand for organising elections in Ukraine.
After this statement, a wave of reactions followed. Paweł Żuchowski, a Polish correspondent based in Washington, stressed the importance of reminding people about the origins of the conflict. In an interview, Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, pointed out that it may be necessary to restate fundamental truths three years into the full-scale invasion, as some seem to have forgotten them. He underscored that Russia, not Ukraine, initiated the war and that this was not an unprovoked act of aggression. Hołownia also highlighted that Vladimir Putin is responsible for abducting tens of thousands of Ukrainian children, taking them to Russia to erase their identities and force assimilation. He further condemned Putin for relentlessly targeting children's centres, hospitals, and factories, as well as for the mass killing of innocent civilians.
Let's recall that during Tuesday's talks in Riyadh between Russia and the United States, Moscow demanded that NATO withdraw the promise made in 2008 that Ukraine would one day be a member of the alliance. It also rejected the idea that NATO forces could act as "peacekeepers" as part of some agreement for a ceasefire.
