Lavrov praises Trump as tensions rise over ukraine NATO bid
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, praised Donald Trump for claiming that the previous U.S. support for Ukraine's efforts to join NATO was a major reason for the outbreak of the war.
Many reports provided by Russian media or government representatives are elements of propaganda. Such information is part of the informational war conducted by the Russian Federation.
"He is the first and, in my opinion, so far the only Western leader who publicly and loudly stated that one of the main reasons for the situation in Ukraine was the aggressive stance of the previous administration that wanted to drag Ukraine into NATO," stated Sergey Lavrov after returning from Riyadh, praising Donald Trump for his shocking claims.
For Russia, which – as Lavrov said – is preparing to work with the U.S., it's a clear signal that the President of the United States "understands their position."
Trump criticizes Ukraine
Trump stated that he did not see any possibility for Russia to allow Ukraine to join NATO and blamed former U.S. President Joe Biden for the alleged change in the United States' stance on Ukraine's membership in the alliance.
The President of the U.S. openly criticized Ukraine, saying that Kyiv should have ended the war at its very beginning by making a deal with Russia. He also suggested that Ukraine started it, criticized Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and supported the demand for organizing elections in Ukraine.
Following this statement, there was an uproar. "As we can see, it's already necessary to remind people who started the war," emphasized Paweł Żuchowski, RMF FM correspondent in Washington. In an interview with WP, Speaker of the Sejm, Szymon Hołownia, said: "Three years after the start of the full-scale invasion, perhaps we need to repeat simple truths because it seems some have forgotten them. It was Russia that started the war, not Ukraine. This was not an unprovoked aggression. It is Putin who kidnapped tens of thousands of Ukrainian children and took them into Russia to strip them of their identity and russify them. It is Putin who daily bombs children's clubs, hospitals, factories, and murders innocent people by the hundreds of thousands."
Let's recall that during Tuesday's talks in Riyadh between Russia and the United States, Moscow demanded that NATO withdraw the promise made in 2008 that Ukraine would one day be a member of the alliance. It also rejected the idea that NATO forces could act as "peacekeepers" as part of some agreement for a ceasefire.
