Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the United States of seeking to kill President Vladimir Putin, and warned of a direct clash between the nuclear powers.
In an interview published by the Russian news agency Tass today, Tuesday, Lavrov described the statements attributed to officials in the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) regarding a blow to the Kremlin that "cuts off his head" as a direct threat to kill President Putin, warning of the consequences of such a scheme.
The Russian minister said that Moscow is ready to discuss security issues regarding Ukraine when Washington realizes the negativity of its current path, as he put it.
He also said that for objective reasons, it is not possible to communicate with the administration of US President Joe Biden because it announced that it aims to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
Lavrov accused the Americans of transmitting intelligence information to the Ukrainian leadership and participating in the planning and implementation of military operations. He also accused Western private military companies and military trainers of fighting alongside the Ukrainian armed forces.
With regard to the horizon for settling the current conflict, the Russian Foreign Minister said that Moscow's proposals regarding "disarmament" and the elimination of what he described as "Nazism" in Ukraine are well known to Kyiv, calling on the Ukrainian authorities to move to eliminate what he described as threats to Russia's security, otherwise the Russian army He is the one who will decide the matter, as he put it.
The Russian strategic nuclear "Yaris" missile during a previous military parade in Moscow (European-archive)
Nuclear clash
In the same interview, Lavrov accused the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) of seeking to defeat Russia in order to weaken and destroy it, he said.
He considered that the Western countries' approach to the war in Ukraine carries the risk of a direct armed clash between the nuclear powers.
The Russian minister said that the main engine of the conflict in Ukraine is Washington, which seeks to achieve the greatest gains, as he put it.
Lavrov had said yesterday, Monday, during his meeting with representatives of the Russian media in Moscow, that the West's ability to lead the global economy is greatly diminishing, which will eventually force it to negotiate with Russia, "whether it be so or not."