“must not be underestimated”
Lavrov: The danger of a third world war is real
4/25/2022, 11:39 p.m
On the one hand, the Russian foreign minister is confident about an agreement with Ukraine. On the other hand, Lavrov is fueling fears of a third world war. The danger is serious.
According to Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, there is currently a real risk of a third world war. “The danger is serious, it is real, it must not be underestimated,” Lavrov said in an interview on Russian television, which the Foreign Ministry shared on its Telegram channel in the evening.
Asked about a comparison of the current situation with the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, Lavrov said that “back then there were actually only a few rules, written rules”. But the “rules of conduct” were quite clear – in Moscow it was clear how Washington was behaving, and Washington was clear how Moscow was behaving. Even today there are few rules, Lavrov said, referring to the “New Start” nuclear disarmament treaty. But “at the same time all other instruments of arms control and non-proliferation are practically destroyed”. There was also a channel of communication during the Cuban Missile Crisis that was trusted by the leaders of the Soviet Union and the United States. Today there is no such channel and no one is trying to create it.
In the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, the United States and the Soviet Union were on the brink of nuclear war. “New Start,” the Strategic Nuclear Disarmament Treaty, is the only remaining major arms control agreement between the United States and Russia. This limits the nuclear arsenals of both countries to 800 delivery systems and 1,550 operational nuclear warheads.
“Zelenskyj only feigns negotiations”
With regard to Ukraine, however, Lavrov was confident that “an agreement would be signed” at the end of the conflict. Russia will continue negotiations with the Ukrainian delegation, Lavrov said. At the same time, he emphasized: “Good will has its limits.” If it is not based on “reciprocity”, “it does not help the negotiation process”.
Lavrov accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of only “pretending” that he was negotiating. “He’s a good actor,” Lavrov said, referring to Zelensky’s previous career as a comedian and serial actor. “If you carefully observe and read what he says, you will find a thousand contradictions.”
Referring to a possible agreement to end the conflict in Ukraine, Lavrov said the “framework” of such an agreement would depend on the “status of the fighting” that will have taken place by the time the “agreement becomes a reality”.