(Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated in an interview with an Indonesian newspaper on Wednesday that the armed confrontation in Ukraine will persist until the West relinquishes plans to dominate and defeat Moscow. Lavrov expressed to the Kompas newspaper that the intention of the “US-led collective West” is to strengthen their global hegemony. Both Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken are scheduled to attend the East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum in Jakarta this week.
Lavrov further explained during the interview, which was published on Russia’s foreign ministry website, that the armed confrontation in Ukraine will continue until the West ceases its efforts to maintain dominion and suppress Russia through its puppet government in Kiev. He stated that there are currently no indications of a change in the West’s position.
In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine, proclaiming it a “special military operation” to rid its neighbor of Nazism. On the other hand, Kyiv and its allies view the ongoing conflict, now in its 17th month, as an aggressive land grab by Russia. Just hours before President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was due to meet with NATO leaders at a summit in Vilnius, Russia conducted kamikaze drone attacks on Kyiv for a second consecutive night.
While the West affirms its commitment to assisting Ukraine in defeating Russia, substantial amounts of modern weaponry and ammunition have been supplied to Kyiv by Western powers. Lavrov additionally accused Kyiv of disregarding Indonesia’s peace plan and promoting its own “package of ultimatums,” while Ukraine maintains its stance that Russia must withdraw its troops from its territory.
Commenting on the internal turmoil in Myanmar following the military coup in 2021, Lavrov urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address the issues through close cooperation with the junta, without interfering in Myanmar’s domestic affairs. The ASEAN foreign ministers convened on Tuesday to discuss the escalating violence in Myanmar. The regional bloc has excluded the junta from its summits due to its failure to implement an agreed-upon peace plan.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly in Melbourne and Ananda Teresia in Jakarta; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
