Lavrov blasts US for waging 'hybrid war' & threatening others to not engage with Russia

Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, who arrived in South Africa on a working visit on Monday blasted United States for starting a 'global hybrid war' against Russia, and ded that Washington under Biden ministration was "crossing red lines." Speaking at a joint press conference after meeting with South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in  capital, Pretoria, Lavrov discussed ongoing military conflict on Europe's eastern flank, Ukraine, saying that it was a result of United States' implicit push and illegitimate methods to exercise its dominance, as well as its attempts of reinforcing its global position. 

US in 'global hybrid war' with Russia

"What is happening in Ukraine now is result of preparations by US and its satellites for start of a global hybrid war against Russian Federation. Nobody is hiding this fact. This is clear from statements by unbiased Western philologists, scientists, and politicians," Lavrov asserted. Russia's Foreign Minister cited recent analysis by Ian Bremmer, a political science professor at Columbia University, that re: “We are not in a cold war with Russia. We are in a hot war with Russia. Now it's a proxy war. And NATO is not fighting it directly. We are fighting it through Ukraine.” 

Lavrov furr reiterated statements of President of Croatia Zoran Milanovic, affirming that Russia's military operation ordered by President Vlimir Putin "is a NATO war." He n evoked ex-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's take on Ukrainian conflict in an opinion piece, wherein he labelled it as a "clash, a rivalry of two nuclear powers."

"Our Western partners are 'cunning' while vehemently trying to prove that y are not fighting Russia, but helping Ukraine respond to an 'aggression' and restore its territorial integrity," asserted Lavrov. " scale of ir support makes it clear that West has staked a great deal on its war against Russia; this is obvious," he furrmore noted. 

Lavrov said that US-established global mechanisms and institutions have lost significance and that everything 'Western globalization model' relied on, has collapsed overnight. US and its allies imposed sanctions on Russia, as well as or countries that refuse to comply with West's tenets and mechanisms.

"Sanctions can be imposed [by US and its allies] any time on any country, which, in one way or anor, refuses to mindlessly follow American orders," stressed Lavrov, ding that  European Union is "totally subsumed by US dictatorship." He n derided  Joint Declaration on EU-NATO Cooperation signed on January 10, saying that it explicitly states that NATO alliance and EU’s goal is to use all political, economic, and military means to make billions of dollars from wars.

"To quote High Representative of EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, rest of world is a 'jungle' that stifles progress in 'garden' [Western world] and must, refore, be reformatted," Lavrov quoted Borrell.

US and West aims to turn or nations "into new-style colonies" to "ruthlessly pump out ir resources," Russia's Foreign Minister asserted. 

US 'on course of destroying or nations, forming military blocs', says Russia

United States and its Western allies "are on course of destroying ties of or nations in different regions -- fragmenting and destabilizing m," claimed Lavrov. He furr stated that this trend is noticeable in  Balkans [Kosovo-Serbia], post-Soviet nations, Indo-Pacific region, Central Asia, and South Caucasus. US is "putting toger military blocs" to rival deces-old mechanisms and formats of cooperation among or nations such as ASEAN. "A shining case in point is military alliance AUKUS, an Anglo-Saxon bloc in Asia, which includes US, UK, and Australia," said Lavrov, ding that Japan is being urged to join. Tokyo is "militarising again" on recommendations of United States, and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is reying to alter articles in its constitution and snub WWII neutrality. 

Policies of US and West "as a whole as main problem creating difficulties in world," asserted Lavrov, ding that US wants to dictate international affairs, and Americans, precisely, can do anything anywhere y want."

Russian minister accused West of fuelling Maidan Uprising in Ukraine and supporting 2014 coup that overthrew pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. He accused US and Europe of imperialism, as proxy troops from Right Sector and neo-Nazi Svoboda Party h overthrown Ukraine's government. "Ukraine h to choose sides and decide who it was with, West or Russia," said Lavrov, but US consistently promoted and pushed its own interest in Ukraine.

"Those who chose to bond with Russian Federation owing to historical and family ties, and ir tritions were ruthlessly criminally prosecuted," Lavrov said, justifying Russia's need for a military operation in Ukraine. NATO, US, and EU used “eir with West or Russia” propaganda in Ukraine, stated Lavrov. 

While  NATO-EU Declaration is being touted as an "alliance of democracies" against autocracies, it is aimed to fuel global rivalry, claimed Foreign Minister of Russia. "It is West's patently confrontational agenda" to divide world, he alleged.  Joint Declaration "directly subordinates Europe to NATO," and includes commitments to "serve US interests" for geopolitical containment of Russia, China, and or countries," he noted. It is a "US-led alliance to achieve global preeminence." 

'India, our strategic partner, has immense potential'

Russia's Foreign Minister praised strategic partners India and China, saying that its allies are developing economically. India, China, Türkiye, Brazil, Argentina, Egypt, and many African countries—have immense natural resources, and ir development potential is enormous, said Lavrov. " West is trying to prevent this by exploiting mechanisms that serve interests within globalization framework," he asserted. use of  US dollar as a reserve currency accomplishes just that, he warned. This is why Russia is fostering SCO, BRICS, CIS, and EAEU, and cooperation with associations of Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to create a new reserve currency and "avoid dependence on West and its neocolonialist methods." 

"President of Russia Vlimir Putin spoke about this frankly and clearly," said Russian minister.