Lavrov Draws Laughter After Claiming Ukraine Attacked Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s assertion that the west used Ukraine to start a war with Moscow was met with a ripple of laughter during a live event in New Delhi on Friday, March 3.
Speaking about Russia-India relations at the Observer Research Foundation (OBR) Raisina Dialogue 2023 event in New Delhi, Lavrov began to respond to an audience question about how the war in Ukraine impacted Russia’s energy strategy.
“The war, which we are trying to stop, and which was launched against us using the Ukrain–” Lavrov began, before audience laugher cut off his statement.
“–Ukrainian people…” he continued. “…influenced the policy of Russia,” of not relying on partners in the west.
Lavrov also made an unsubstantiated claim about damage to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. OBR chair Sunjoy Joshi, who was hosting the event, left both assertions unchallenged.
India’s relationship with Russia has not publicly wavered since Moscow launched its full-scale war in Ukraine in February 2022. Credit: Observer Research Foundation via Storyful
Video transcript
SERGEY LAVROV: The war which we are trying to stop and which was launched against us using the Ukraine-- Ukrainian people, of course, it influenced the policy of Russia, including energy policy. And the blunt way to describe what is the change-- what changed, we would not anymore rely on any partners in the West. We would not allow them to blow the pipelines again. By the way, we asked for investigation. And immediately, this investigation request was denied. The Americans called it a nonsense.
The war which we are trying to stop and which was launched against us using the Ukraine-- Ukrainian people, of course, it influenced the policy of Russia, including energy policy. And the blunt way to describe what is the change-- what changed, we would not anymore rely on any partners in the West. We would not allow them to blow the pipelines again. By the way, we asked for investigation. And immediately, this investigation request was denied. The Americans called it a nonsense.
