Moscow warns that its red lines are not to be fooled with in the light of the possible US supplies of long-range missiles to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
"The US has already crossed the threshold that they designated for themselves. They are being incited and [Ukrainian President] Zelensky, of course, sees this and uses it. Whoever jokes about our red lines, do not fools with our red lines. They know perfectly well what they are," Lavrov told reporter Pavel Zarubin.
According to media reports, the US is close to an agreement on providing Ukraine with long-range JASSM cruise missiles.
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Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, responding to a question about the potential delivery of long-range US missiles to Ukraine, warned the United States on Wednesday not to joke about Russia’s “red lines”.
ReplyDeleteLavrov said the US was losing sight of the sense of mutual deterrence that had underpinned the balance of security between Moscow and Washington since the Cold War, and that this was dangerous.
He was commenting on a Reuters report that the US is close to an agreement to supply Ukraine with long-range JASSM cruise missiles that could reach deep inside Russia - for which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been lobbying.
Washington would be well-served not to mess with Russia's red lines on the Ukrainian issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
ReplyDelete"They [the US] should understand that our red lines are nothing to fool with. And they know very well where they are," the top diplomat told reporter Pavel Zarubin.
According to the foreign minister, the US is starting to lose its sense of mutual restraint with Russia. "This is dangerous," Lavrov pointed out.
"[US National Security Council spokesman John] Kirby said that the issue of stepping up support for Ukraine should be approached carefully so as not to provoke World War III, because it will be sad to see Europe gone," the top diplomat continued. "So they have this deep-seated conviction that they are untouchable. This undermines all the principles based on the Soviet-American agreements on strategic stability, which were later confirmed and developed with Russia," Lavrov said.
The foreign minister emphasized that the Americans have "crossed their own red lines" on the issue of arms deliveries to Kiev. "The US is being provoked, and [Ukrainian President Vladimir] Zelensky, of course, sees this and uses it to his advantage," Lavrov pointed out. The top diplomat said he hoped that the US would see the light about the potential consequences of supplying Ukraine with weapons. "I am convinced that there are reasonable people with significant influence left there. And I hope that the interests of the US will be taken into account," the top diplomat concluded.