Sergei Lavrov says West aims to defeat Russia and split the federation

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters that the entire "civilised" world is opposed to Russia. He claimed Western countries are seeking a strategic defeat of Russia and are prepared to resume negotiations only if a cease‑fire is implemented and peace‑keeping forces under the United Kingdom and France are deployed in Ukraine.

Lavrov singled out the Baltic states, especially Lithuania, as the West's main "warheads" against Moscow and condemned Lithuania's recent move to lift the ban on the stationing of nuclear weapons on its territory. He also accused the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, the United States of waging a war against Russia through the supply of advanced weapons to Ukraine.

The minister reiterated that Russia must rely on its own resources and echoed President Vladimir Putin's pledge of victory, while portraying the West as attempting to fragment the Russian Federation.