For the Russian Foreign Minister, Serghei Lavrov, the events of recent days in Georgia closely resemble those of Euromaidan in Kiev which in 2014 led to the overthrow of the pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych. In an interview with state television broadcast by TASS, the head of Moscow’s diplomacy reiterated that Russia considers the overthrow of Yanukovych as a “coup d’état” supported by the West. For Lavrov, the unrest in Georgia was orchestrated from abroad to create trouble on Russia’s borders and the protests against the ‘foreign agents’ law were “just an excuse to attempt a change of power by force” (WAR IN UKRAINE: THE LIVE BLOG).
“Constructive and civil conversation with Blinken”
During the interview, the Russian foreign minister described the conversation he recently had with the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers meeting in New Delhi as “constructive and civil”. “We discussed the situation in the field of strategic stability in the context of the Start treaty and Ukraine,” he continued. However, Lavrov added that countries bordering Russia should take into consideration the dangers inherent in ending up in the US sphere of influence. “I think that all the countries bordering Russia-he underlined-should draw their own conclusions on the degree of danger in taking the path of inclusion in the area of responsibility or in the area of interest of the United States”.
“If the Nord Stream investigation is blocked, Moscow will respond”
On the case of the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, damaged in alleged acts of sabotage for which it is not known who is responsible, Lavrov argued that Russia will think “about how to respond to the West” if an “objective and impartial investigation” on the explosions in the Nord Stream pipelines should be “blocked”. The Russian Foreign Minister then returned to attacking the West, accusing it of wanting to pit “India against China” explaining that “our Indian friends understand this very well. They have told us frankly that they see these attempts. They see the real objectives that NATO is pursuing by declaring that its area of responsibility extends not only to the Euro-Atlantic region, but also to the Indo-Pacific region”. Lavrov also said he was “sure” that “the pressure of” Western “sanctions on China will only increase”. Already strained relations between Russia and the West deteriorated further after Moscow’s troops invaded Ukraine.
Source-tg24.sky.it