Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made a series of statements that heightened alarm across Europe.
Lavrov, who has served as Russia’s top diplomat for more than 20 years, delivered a string of warnings to Europe in a new interview with state news agency TASS.
He accused Ukraine and Europe of showing “no readiness for constructive talks” on peace, saying they refuse to capitulate. Lavrov also claimed that discussions within a Western “coalition of the willing” about sending military contingents to Ukraine are ongoing.
“We have said a hundred times that in that case they would become a legitimate target for our Armed Forces,” the foreign minister said.
Lavrov alleged Europeans are preparing an attack on Russia and threatened a “crushing response,” while insisting Moscow has no plans to strike Europe.
“For the slow-witted politicians in Europe… there is no need to fear that Russia will attack anyone,” he said.
That latest assertion is likely to cause the greatest unease in European capitals, given that Lavrov vehemently denied plans to attack Ukraine just weeks and days before the full-scale invasion.
On January 21, 2022, after talks in Geneva with then–U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Lavrov said: “You assert that we are going to attack Ukraine, although we have explained many times that this is not the case.”
A week later, he told Russian radio stations that “there will be no war.” Less than a week before the full-scale invasion—when Russian forces were massed at Ukraine’s borders—he told the propaganda outlet RT that media reports of an imminent attack were fake. He accused media warning of Kremlin plans of “information terrorism,” spreading propaganda and fabrications.
The episode has become a stark illustration for many observers: the more forcefully Lavrov denies something, the higher the chance it will happen. Meanwhile, Russia’s hybrid aggression against the EU and NATO is already under way, manifesting in sabotage, cyberattacks, drone incursions and more.
