Lavrov: Europe wants to “call the tune” and preserve the Ukrainian regime

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s statements about Ukraine’s future in the alliance are driven by Europe’s desire to show that it will be the one setting the agenda.

The foreign minister made the remarks in an interview with Izvestia on the sidelines of the SPIEF.

“NATO Secretary General Rutte declared in Kyiv that Ukraine will become a NATO member. That is, Europe wants to prove that it will be the one calling the tune, that it will not abandon its support for the Nazi regime. It is to this very regime that Europe is promising security guarantees once the hostilities are over,” Lavrov said.

According to the minister, the position of European countries runs counter to the statements of US President Donald Trump, who has said that Kyiv joining NATO is unacceptable.

Lavrov also drew attention to the fact that Europe is seeking to preserve a regime that, in his words, “has banned the Russian language, banned the canonical Ukrainian church, in defiance of all international norms, including the UN Charter, numerous conventions, and the Constitution of Ukraine itself.”

“They have been passing laws that violate the constitution. No one says anything to them about it,” the minister added.