Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov fiercely criticized the European Union's proposal to deploy peacekeepers in Ukraine, labeling it a deceptive war tactic aimed at escalating the conflict. Speaking at a live press conference, Lavrov accused the EU of using "peacekeeping" as a guise for further militarization, warning that such actions would drag Europe into direct confrontation with Russia. The Kremlin maintains that the West is weaponizing Ukraine against Moscow, with Lavrov emphasizing that any foreign deployment would be seen as a direct provocation.
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NewsTranscript
00:00In the United Nations, Russia has spoken in favor of immediate removal of those sanctions.
00:08Those sanctions affected not Bashar Assad and his government, but the Syrian people
00:14who have been entertaining separatist ideas under the Biden administration, which is absolutely
00:19unacceptable for all other forces in the country, as this may lead to a big war.
00:26Europe immediately tries to undermine this trend, announcing new large packages of military
00:32aid to Kiev, instigating it to continue hostilities.
00:37We are in favor of a situation when all external players – Russia, Iran, China, and Europe
00:44– would contribute to the normalization of the situation in Syria.
00:50Our nearest goal is to hold a session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade that
00:55is scheduled for the next month in Moscow.
01:00Our international policy authorities will be meeting as well, and we also always keep
01:05in mind the possibility of summit meetings.
01:13We have agreed to work in all directions – first of all, the trade and economic sphere, energy
01:24within such organizations such as the Doha-based Gas Exporting Countries Forum and other directions
01:33of our economic cooperation, including the interaction between the Investment Agency
01:38of Qatar and Russia's Fund of Direct Investments.
01:43We also plan on humanitarian exchanges, encouraging tourism and humanitarian exchange as well.
01:54We have talked a lot about Middle Eastern affairs, mostly from the point of view of
02:02the process currently unfolding in the Syrian Arab Republic after the change of power.
02:09We are interested that this process does not go out of control because the risks of that
02:22still persist.
02:23There are still hostilities among various groups.
02:30After the new regime was set in Damascus, in many parts of Syria have been showing desire
02:41to separate from the central power.
02:45This is true not only about the Kurds, who have been entertaining separatist ideas under
02:50the Biden administration, which is absolutely unacceptable for all other forces in the country,
02:57as this may lead to a big war.
03:00And there are many other forces that could use the situation to claim rights for a certain
03:07autonomy.
03:10To bring these processes to order and to streamline them, the Syrian authorities have recently
03:17held the Syrian National Congress, which they claim represented all the ethnical and
03:26confessional forces in Syria.
03:29A declaration was accepted that calls for further work to be transparent and involving
03:40all groups representing the Syrian society, creating conditions for social and economic
03:47development and overcoming the severe problems inherited as a result of unilateral sanctions
03:58imposed by the United States and Europe against the Bashar Assad government.
04:06In the United Nations, Russia has spoken in favor of immediate removal of those sanctions.
04:14Those sanctions affected not Bashar Assad and his government, but the Syrian people.
04:21And those sanctions continue to do the same under the current power, which the West considers
04:27more acceptable than the previous government.
04:32And we're going to strive for the cancellation of those sanctions without any conditions,
04:40because Europe has attempted to set requirements that any lift in sanctions should lead to
04:58kicking out of Russia from Syria.
05:03This is the approach that has been typical of Europe.
05:07It's either with us or in no way at all.
05:14This mentality was – this mentality is absolutely not bringing any value in any processes.
05:26We have spoken with the minister on this, because the political force – the balance
05:32of political forces is changing.
05:37And Europe immediately tries to undermine this trend, announcing new large packages
05:42of military aid to Kiev, instigating it to continue hostilities.
05:49As the Danish prime minister says directly, that this situation for Ukraine peace is worse
05:56than war.
05:58So Europe's – the role played by Europe in escalating this crisis and its reputation
06:05on this way that it has deserved over centuries of human progress remains basically the same.
06:16We are in favor of a situation when all external players – Russia, Iran, China, and Europe
06:25– would contribute to the normalization of the situation in Syria.
06:30And we know that the Syrian leadership – and we received confirmation of that from our
06:37Qatar counterparts – are interested in normalization of the situation in the country,
06:47and that nobody should try to put those processes in service to their agenda.
06:58Syria should never more be a territory where political problems of external players are
07:04resolved.
07:05We paid attention to the situation on the Palestinian-Israeli settlement and relationship
07:13between Israel and Lebanon.
07:15We're extremely worried by the fact that every day the Israeli army is doing steps
07:27that are not set forth in the agreement between Hamas and Lebanon, that create facts on the
07:38ground that go against the UN Security Council resolutions on Palestinian affairs and on
07:47the Lebanon issue.
07:49In this connection, both Qatar and the Russian Federation share the view that this process
07:58should be – should observe the principles set forth by the UN Security Council.
08:05The question of creating the Palestinian state is of key importance here.
08:12And if attempts are made to protract those processes and replace the creation of Palestinian
08:21state with displacing Palestinians across the region, it will only set a time bomb under
08:29the proceedings, as has been the case over the previous decades of ignoring the two-state option.
08:40In this connection, we will continue consulting with Qatar.
08:45There is a very useful dialogue going on between Russia and the League of Arab States within
08:51our joint format, and our experts discuss all outstanding issues on a daily basis.
09:03And we will continue to use our weight in the United Nations to make sure that these
09:09issues are solved in a constructive manner, which has not been the case yet.
09:15We place hopes on the conference of the League of Arab States that is being convened in Cairo,
09:23where they will discuss the future of the Gaza Strip in the context of initiatives that
09:31have been voiced, going all the way to turn it into a tourism zone.
09:39Arabs want the right of Palestinians to live on their own land, to be protected.
09:45And on the 14th of March, in Istanbul, there will be a joint committee of the League of
09:50Arab States and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation that will be devoted to approaches
09:58to settling the relationships in this region, Israel-Palestine, Israel-Lebanon, and Israel-Syria.
10:08Those Israeli representatives, just like they decided to stay in the south of Lebanon
10:19in the same way, they have now entered the south of the Syrian Arabic Republic.
10:26All this situation requires certain constructive steps that would take into account the interests
10:36of security and development of all the states in the region, including, of course, Israel.
10:42But solving issues of security and development should not be in detriment of interests of
10:50security of other countries.
10:54If you have questions, please welcome.
10:56So Minister Lavrov, Qatar is a country that has contributed a lot of effort to make sure
11:01that families and children separated over the hostilities in Ukraine would be brought
11:07together.
11:10How do you see Qatar's further middlemanship in settling the Ukrainian crisis?
11:17And what are the prospects of further energy cooperation with Qatar?
11:22Today we have expressed gratitude once again to the head of Qatar and the Minister of Foreign
11:28Affairs for their efforts, which they take to help in humanitarian matters between Russia
11:39and Ukraine.
11:40They do that without much advertising.
11:45And they've contributed a lot to reuniting children and their families.
11:52These efforts will continue.
11:55We always welcome the initiatives that regional countries come up with.
12:05And along with Qatar, the Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also contributed
12:11to that.
12:12We think such gestures of good will greatly benefit individual people that suffer in this
12:19conflict.
12:21As for other areas of cooperation, we don't expect any particular steps.
12:34We are waiting for our European colleagues to finally stop lying about Russia blocking
12:41the negotiations.
12:42President Putin has many times responded to these deceitful statements, saying that it
12:51is, first of all, it is Ukraine instigated by Europe, who is refusing to negotiate.
13:01Apart from the notorious Zelensky decree banning any negotiations with Russia, on a daily basis
13:11we hear statements that the Ukrainians don't need to sit at the negotiations table.
13:22First, they need to ensure battlefield superiority.
13:31This is the current outdated and obsolete rhetoric of the Ukrainian – of European
13:39countries regarding Ukraine.
13:42We are of the opinion that the best help and assistance from those who sincerely want to
13:49settle this conflict is to recognize and realize its core reasons of this conflict.
14:00In his recent speeches, President Trump called the expansion of NATO and attempts to include
14:07Ukraine the biggest mistake by the Biden administration and one of the core conflict – one of the
14:14core reasons for this conflict.
14:18And today, we once again try to draw attention to another glaring reason that the West is
14:27trying to hush down.
14:34Is the course policy towards eradication of all things Russian in Ukraine, be it in the
14:40sphere of education, mass media, culture.
14:49And the recent ban on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, this is a direct violation of the
14:55UN Charter, which demands everyone to respect human rights for language and confession.
15:04Not a word has been said about that by European representatives.
15:13So recognition of facts that we have been citing and understanding of these core reasons
15:19will be the best contribution that any country can make to creating conditions to settle
15:28this conflict.
15:33The other question was about the energy cooperation with Qatar.
15:37Well, first of all, Qatar is one of the biggest shareholders in Rosneft.
15:47And Doha hosts the headquarters for the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, a very important
15:57structure that we value for the harmony it brings to the market of energy resources – first
16:08of all, natural gas.
16:11And the Qatar Investment Agency and the Russian Foundation of Direct Investments, together
16:17they work on projects worth more than a billion dollars.
16:24And there are more projects in the pipeline.
16:30So some of those agreements could be aimed at new forms of energy cooperation, but that's
16:36up to relevant authorities and companies to decide.
16:41Commercant France's President Emmanuel Macron said at his meeting with President Trump on
16:48Tuesday that Washington and Paris finally agreed on the need to deploy European peacekeeping
16:55troops in Ukraine, and Moscow has many times said that it won't agree to any such scenario.
17:04Troops from what country would Russia agree to see in this capacity?
17:13This is out of question.
17:15We can't contemplate any options here.
17:19I don't know what Macron might say on that.
17:22He wasn't looking very convincing in Washington.
17:24But President Trump, when asked about that, as I read, said that deploying peacekeepers
17:35is only possible upon consent of both parties, meaning, obviously, us and Ukraine.
17:43We haven't been asked anything about that.
17:48And I think this approach, enforced by Europe, by France and Britain, first of all, is aimed
17:56at what I've just been saying here, about further escalating this conflict, preventing
18:05any attempts to bring it down.
18:10Macron was talking about the need for an urgent truce, deployment of peacekeeping troops,
18:17and then he said we would discuss territories, people's lives, and other ways of settling
18:24the conflict.
18:26I think this is deceiving.
18:34I think this only has one goal, to pump more and more weapons into Ukraine.
18:42A delegation came to Ukraine and they announced more billions of dollars' worth of weapons
18:49to be pumped in Ukraine.
18:51And when the United States comes up with a resolution that peace is needed urgently,
19:02Europe goes against that.
19:06They don't want to see peace there, because Ukraine obviously hasn't achieved the goal.
19:14Previously, that goal was to deliver a strategic defeat to Russia.
19:21And now Macron says in Washington that they need to find a settlement that would not look
19:27as capitulation.
19:33These guys are quick to find their bearings, but not in everything.
19:37Their main goal is to eradicate the reason for conflict, and the reason for that is not
19:45absence of a peacekeeping contingent.
19:57The goal is to make Ukraine a territory in NATO and total eradication of all things Russian
20:09in Ukraine.
20:10There were suggestions to split the territory.
20:16This is not the case.
20:18First of all, we have a constitution based on the free will of people.
20:22Besides, what's left of Ukraine should be freed of racist laws.
20:31There are still people remaining there who want to speak Russian, who want to maintain
20:36and preserve the traditions of their forebears brought up in Russian culture.
20:42So simple mechanistic measures such as peacekeeper deployment will not be enough.
20:50We need to talk about the core reasons.
20:56Reuters previously reported that Moscow had allegedly agreed that its $3 billion worth
21:02of assets will be unfrozen and go to restore Ukraine on condition that part of that money
21:11goes to the new territories of Russia, Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Republic.
21:17Is Russia indeed contemplating such an option?
21:20And the other question is Washington and Kyiv is preparing to sign a deal on rare earth
21:26metals, but a significant part of those resources is on the four new regions of Russia.
21:33At the Riyadh meeting and other contacts, were those rare earth minerals discussed?
21:44And Putin's invitation addressed to American businesses, did it cover the four new territories?
21:53When the Russian Federation invites foreign investors to take part in the territory of
21:58Russia, of course, we need the entire territory of the Russian Federation in full compliance
22:09with its constitution.
22:10At the Riyadh meeting, this matter was not discussed.
22:14We spoke, however, as was emphasized in the telephone conversation between President Putin
22:23and President Trump, we spoke about the need to eliminate artificial obstacles in the way
22:28of development of mutually beneficial economic and other ties, which is in the interests
22:39of businesses, both in Russia and the United States.
22:47But first, we need to change the silly, unhealthy situation that currently prevents communication
22:56between the two leading powers.
23:00And as for our assets stolen by the Europeans, no, this wasn't discussed specifically, but
23:15this topic is going to stay on the table, of course, I have no doubt about that.
23:20And I think the Americans realize that as well, for example, State Secretary Marco Rubio
23:26just yesterday, I think, said that the matter of frozen Russian assets must be addressed
23:37and must be addressed in connection with steps taken by the Russian Federation in response,
23:45and that touch upon the interests of American businesses.
23:50I think this is a healthy attitude that we need to stop thieving approach and expect
24:00this thieving approach to stay without response.
24:07And President Macron spoke a lot the other day, and when asked the same question, he
24:14said that the seized assets should not be touched because this will be violation of
24:23international law.
24:26But the revenues and profits from those assets, those can well be used for the needs of supporting
24:35Ukraine.
24:36And I would like to ask our French colleagues to explain what exactly provision of international
24:44law allows them to use the profits from what they have stolen.
24:54You said that, first of all, you want to solve the matter with our embassies, the Russian
25:01and American embassy.
25:09You said Marco Rubio said he's ready to discuss the fate of the frozen Russian assets.
25:17Is Russia going to insist on that those assets be paid back?
25:22Well, this has no relation to the functioning of embassies.
25:30We announced that our diplomats, top-ranking diplomats and experts are going to meet and
25:42take a look at the systemic problems that accumulated as a result of the previous administration's
25:51illegitimate activities.
25:57And of course, we responded to that in kind, creating uncomfortable conditions for the
26:03functioning of America's embassy in Moscow.
26:06I think the meeting is taking place tomorrow in Istanbul, and after that meeting, we will
26:12realize how quickly and efficiently we are going to move forward.
26:19Mr. Minister Lavrov, how would you comment on the results of the election in Germany
26:25and what expectations Russia has of the Mertz policy?
26:30Well, we have offered our comments.
26:34Our ambassador in Berlin gave his evaluation.
26:39We see changes in the political landscape in Germany.
26:43Again, there's a certain separation between the West and the East in the country.
26:51The East is more focused on solving domestic problems that have grown rather aggravated
27:01due to Germany joining the anti-Russian sanctions, and that Germany tucked its tail after the
27:11terrorist attacks against the Nord Stream pipeline and acted against the investigation
27:24into the attack that undermined the very foundation of Germany's economy that had allowed it to
27:33be the leader of economic development in Europe.
27:35I think voters in Germany are now getting a better understanding of what's going on.
27:41And as for Mr. Mertz, he has a rather peculiar approach to Russia.
27:50Unlike Chancellor Schultz, he insisted on sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine for
27:58long-range strikes against targets in Russia.
28:06And when Germans start entertaining ideas like this, that certainly provokes a certain
28:11kind of recollections.
28:14And I think that should provoke the Germans for a certain kind of recollections.
28:20He said recently that the United States is no longer to rely on, that they will either
28:25remove their nuclear umbrella or won't use it.
28:29So he spoke about the need to achieve new agreements among – within the European Union
28:37and the NATO, that the nuclear umbrella for Europe should be provided by the Great Britain
28:51and France as nuclear powers.
28:57I think so far Mr. Mertz looks rather aggressive-minded, but it is often the case when a politician
29:11evolves from a candidate into a full-scale political figure, a chancellor in this case,
29:17their views become more realistic.
29:19Now let's see how things develop.
29:23Thank you very much.