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00:00And joining me now is Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
00:04Mr. Foreign Minister, welcome to meet the press.
00:09Thank you so much for joining us.
00:11And welcome to meet the Russian diplomats.
00:13Thank you so much for joining us after a very significant week.
00:18Let's dive right into the state of these talks.
00:23Has President Putin committed to a one-on-one meeting with President Zelensky?
00:30Well, those are the speculations which are being spread
00:35by, first of all, Mr. Zelensky himself and his European sponsors.
00:43It was not discussed in Anchorage.
00:47It was raised later as something which is kind of impromptu,
00:57appearing from the meeting in Washington between President Trump and his guests.
01:04President Putin received the call of President Trump after that meeting.
01:09And he clearly stated that we are ready to continue the negotiations,
01:16direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations, which started in Istanbul
01:20and already had three rounds convened there.
01:25And he said that meetings at the top level, the summit meetings,
01:29especially between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine,
01:34must be very well prepared.
01:35So preparatory process must be agreed.
01:40And for this, we suggested to raise the level of delegations
01:44who were meeting and will be meeting in Istanbul
01:48to address specific issues which need to be brought to the attention
01:54of the President Putin and Zelensky.
01:57And those issues relate both to humanitarian, military, and to political matters.
02:08Last time our delegations met in Istanbul,
02:11we suggested to create three working groups, including on political matters.
02:16More than one month's passed already.
02:18There is no response from the Ukrainian side.
02:20And when Mr. Zelensky says the immediate priority is my meeting with Putin,
02:27well, it's basically a game.
02:31A game he is very good to play because he wants theatrics in everything he is doing.
02:41He does not care about substance.
02:43And it is not by chance that now they try,
02:48I mean the Ukrainians and the Europeans who attended the meeting in Washington,
02:54they try to distort what was discussed in Anchorage
02:59between President Trump and President Putin
03:01regarding, in particular, the security guarantees.
03:04They, I read some Bloomberg reports yesterday and today
03:12saying that the negotiations between U.S. and Russia
03:17on security guarantees for Ukraine have been, in fact, undermined
03:24because of the demands by Moscow to include the principle of indivisible security.
03:31It's a very telling statement.
03:34Indivisible security is something which was enshrined in many documents
03:38adopted by consensus at the summits of organization of security
03:43and cooperation in Europe, in particular, in Istanbul in 1999
03:47and in Astana in 2010.
03:51This principle goes like no one can strengthen his security
03:57at the expense of security of others.
03:59No organization in the European space can pretend to dominate
04:07in military and political matters.
04:10And NATO has been doing exactly the opposite.
04:13So when we are accused that by flagging the principle of indivisible security,
04:18we are undermining the process of negotiations
04:23between U.S., Russia and Ukraine,
04:27this means that the people admit that they want divisible security,
04:34that they want security built for Ukraine,
04:37which is being discussed now, but built against Russia.
04:42Those discussions which took place yesterday,
04:47before yesterday, after the Washington meeting,
04:50they clearly indicate that people see security as only security for Ukraine,
04:56and they are prepared to send intervention force, occupying force,
05:04to the Ukrainian territory to deter Russia.
05:08They don't conceal that this is the goal.
05:12And this is not the way to handle the situation.
05:15President Putin and President Trump in Anchorage discussed the security guarantees,
05:20and President Putin recalled that in April 2022 in Istanbul,
05:26during negotiations initiated by the Ukrainian side,
05:31very soon after we started our special military operation.
05:36During those negotiations in April 2022,
05:41Ukrainian delegation presented the draft principles
05:45to reach a treaty, to reach agreement on ending the war.
05:52Those principles were initialed by both delegations.
05:55And as regards the security guarantees for Ukraine,
06:00those principles proposed by Ukrainian delegation,
06:04I underline this once again,
06:07they provided for creation a group of guarantors.
06:13This group containing of permanent members of the Security Council,
06:18Russia, US, China, UK, and France.
06:22Plus, they mentioned Germany, Turkey, and any other country
06:27which would be interested to join this group of guarantors.
06:31Mr. Foreign Minister?
06:32And guarantors would be guaranteeing the security of Ukraine,
06:37which must be neutral,
06:40which must be non-aligned with any military bloc,
06:44and which must be non-nuclear.
06:47Mr. Foreign Minister, we are going to get to the security guarantees.
06:49We're going to have a big conversation about that.
06:51But I just want to stick to this idea
06:53of a one-on-one meeting between President Putin
06:56and President Zelensky.
06:58It's not just Zelensky saying it.
06:59The White House says President Putin told President Trump
07:02he's willing to meet face-to-face with President Zelensky.
07:05And I guess the question is,
07:07how can you claim to be serious about a peace process
07:11when you can't tell me directly,
07:13is President Putin willing to meet with President Zelensky?
07:17Is that the plan?
07:17Look, I hope that those who are interested
07:21in what is going on around Ukraine,
07:23they follow the statements of President Putin,
07:26especially when they try to see some wrongdoing on our side.
07:31President Putin repeated this statement,
07:33that he is ready to meet with President Zelensky.
07:35And actually, yesterday at my press conference,
07:38after my meeting with the minister of India,
07:44I repeated this,
07:45that he is ready to meet with President Zelensky,
07:48provided this meeting is really going to decide something.
07:53To meet for Zelensky to have another opportunity
07:57to be on stage is not what we believe is useful.
08:03We are not against him playing games
08:04and playing various shows,
08:09but it is not going to resolve the issue.
08:12Because he publicly stated
08:14that he is not going to discuss any territories,
08:18thus challenging President Trump
08:21and other American colleagues
08:23who stated the territorial issue must be on the table.
08:27He clearly stated
08:29that nobody can prohibit him from joining NATO,
08:33which is again,
08:34categorically challenges what President Trump was saying
08:39and quite a number of other things.
08:41He also said that he is not going
08:42to restore the rights of the Russian-speaking people
08:46and cancel legislation
08:48which was passed long before
08:52the special military operation,
08:54starting from 2019.
08:56A series of legislation was passed
08:59in Ukrainian parliament
09:01prohibiting Russian language,
09:03exterminating Russian language,
09:05Russian culture, Russian education,
09:07Russian media,
09:08and canonic Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
09:12So when he said that
09:13I don't give a damn
09:16about what you are saying,
09:20what President Trump believes
09:22must be a part of the solution,
09:25but I am ready to meet
09:27just to do what.
09:30So if we are all going to be concentrating,
09:35concentrated on, you know,
09:39imaginary effect,
09:40it's not what diplomacy is about,
09:43it's what the showmen normally do with pleasure.
09:49So bottom line,
09:50bottom line,
09:50there's no meeting planned.
09:51President Putin said clearly
09:53that he is ready to meet,
09:56provided this meeting
09:57is really going to have an agenda,
10:01presidential agenda.
10:02So that's a big if.
10:04There's no meeting planned,
10:05Mr. Foreign Minister.
10:06That's a big if.
10:07You're saying there's no meeting planned right now.
10:10Christian, Christian,
10:11I am awfully sorry you're not listening.
10:14There is no meeting planned,
10:16and I'm not challenging this.
10:18But you cannot, I think,
10:21understand what I am saying.
10:24Putin is ready to meet with Zelensky
10:27when the agenda would be ready for a summit.
10:34And this agenda is not ready at all.
10:37President Trump suggested,
10:39after Anchorage,
10:40several points which we share.
10:43And on some of them,
10:45we agreed to be,
10:48to show some flexibility.
10:49When President Trump brought those issues
10:52to the meeting in Washington,
10:55with Zelensky present,
10:57together with his European sponsors,
11:00he clearly indicated,
11:02it was very clear to everybody,
11:04that there are several principles
11:06which Washington believes must be accepted,
11:10including no NATO membership,
11:14including the discussion of territorial issues.
11:20And Zelensky said no to everything.
11:22He even said no to,
11:24as I said,
11:25to cancelling legislation,
11:27prohibiting the Russian language.
11:29How can we meet with a person
11:31who is pretending to be a leader,
11:35the leader of a country,
11:36which is the only country on earth
11:38who had prohibited a language,
11:42not to mention that this is one of the official UN languages.
11:46In Israel,
11:47Arabic language is not prohibited.
11:50In Palestine and other Arab countries,
11:53Hebrew is not prohibited.
11:55But Ukraine does whatever
11:57they believe is necessary
11:59to promote the Russophobic nazist agenda.
12:04And the West,
12:05who is normally crazy about human rights
12:07when they discuss anything anywhere.
12:09But in relation to Ukraine,
12:11the words human rights
12:13were never used during those years
12:17after the coup in 2014.
12:20Okay, Mr. Foramister,
12:21let's keep moving.
12:23He is ready to meet.
12:24But no, we cannot meet just for him.
12:27To have a picture
12:28and to say that now I am legitimate.
12:31Okay.
12:32Legitimacy, legitimacy,
12:33legitimacy is another matter
12:35because irrespective of when this meeting might take place,
12:40and it must be very well prepared,
12:42the issue of who is going to sign the deal
12:45on the Ukrainian side.
12:47So you're saying you don't see President Zelenskyy
12:50as the legitimate leader of Ukraine?
12:52President Putin doesn't recognize him
12:54as the legitimate leader of Ukraine?
12:55No, we recognize him
12:57as de facto head of the regime.
13:00And in this capacity,
13:03we are ready to meet with him.
13:05But when it comes to signing legal documents,
13:08you want to have the entire picture
13:10is just part of it,
13:11which suits you.
13:12When we come to a stage
13:15when you have to sign documents,
13:17we would need a very clear understanding
13:21by everybody
13:22that the person who is signing is legitimate.
13:26And according to the Ukrainian constitution,
13:28Mr. Zelenskyy is not at the moment.
13:31Okay, well, he is the democratically elected president.
13:35Mr. Foreign Minister, let's keep moving.
13:37President Trump told French President Macron this week,
13:40quote,
13:40I think Putin wants to make a deal for me.
13:44Is that accurate?
13:46Does President Putin want to make a deal
13:49for President Trump?
13:52Well, I would not,
13:54I would not go in this semantic,
13:56you know, exercise.
13:57President Putin was invited by President Trump.
14:03He visited Alaska.
14:05They had a very substantive meeting in Anchorage.
14:10They discussed the practical way,
14:13not just who is going to meet whom
14:15and what kind of broadcasting would be provided.
14:20They discussed real things regarding security,
14:24the violation of Russian security interests
14:28was one of the root causes
14:31of what has happened.
14:33And this relates to many years of lies
14:39when we were promised starting from 1990
14:43and then many times we were promised
14:47that NATO would not be expanding.
14:48And the OSCE summit documents,
14:53which I quoted,
14:54said in the past,
14:57and nobody cancelled it,
14:59that no organization must claim superiority
15:02in Europe,
15:04and NATO has been doing exactly the opposite.
15:07So the security guarantees,
15:09which Russia presented several times,
15:12in 2008 we suggested to sign a pact
15:16between Russia and NATO,
15:19and it was ignored.
15:22In 2021,
15:24before we had to take a decision
15:27on launching the special military operation,
15:30we suggested two treaties,
15:32one between Russia and the United States
15:34and one between Russia and NATO.
15:36This was also ignored
15:38in a very,
15:40I would say,
15:41arrogant way.
15:45Lincoln,
15:45who was Secretary of State at that time,
15:47told me when we met in Geneva
15:49in January 2022,
15:52he said,
15:53forget about this,
15:54we can discuss some limits
15:56on the weapons
15:58which we, the West,
16:00would supply to Ukraine.
16:01But NATO membership
16:03is not for discussion
16:06with anybody.
16:07All right.
16:07When I told him that this
16:08bluntly violates
16:11the principle
16:12of indivisible security,
16:14he said,
16:14the indivisible security
16:16in OSC
16:16is political declaration.
16:19Yeah.
16:19But political declaration
16:20signed by the leaders,
16:24I think is something
16:25which just out of decency,
16:27out of diplomatic
16:28and political decency,
16:30you have to respect.
16:31Okay.
16:31And Mr. Foreign Minister,
16:32we have a lot to get to.
16:33So I do want to keep moving.
16:35Just this week,
16:37Russia bombed
16:38an American-owned factory
16:40near the Hungarian border.
16:42I've spoken to people
16:43who frankly see that
16:45as a slap in the face
16:46to President Trump,
16:48to the entire peace process.
16:49Isn't it?
16:55Well, I would say that
16:56those who are sincerely interested
17:01in understanding
17:01what is going on
17:03would know,
17:05should know by now
17:06that never, ever,
17:09Russia deliberately targeted
17:11any sites
17:13which are not linked
17:15to military
17:17abilities of Ukraine.
17:20This is an electronics factory,
17:22though, sir.
17:22This is an electronics factory.
17:25I've spoken to people
17:26on the ground there.
17:27It builds coffee machines
17:29among other electronics.
17:31This is not a military site.
17:33Well, I understand
17:35that some people
17:36are really naive
17:37and when they see
17:38a coffee machine
17:40in the window,
17:41they believe
17:41that this is the place
17:43where coffee machines
17:44are produced.
17:44Our intelligence
17:45has very good information.
17:46And we target only,
17:49as I said,
17:50either military enterprises,
17:52military sites,
17:53or industrial enterprises
17:55directly involved
17:56in producing military equipment
17:59for Ukrainian army.
18:02And on the contrary,
18:04I never recall
18:06any concern expressed
18:08by the media in the West
18:10regarding the activities
18:13of Ukrainian armed forces
18:15when they,
18:17for example,
18:17in the Kursk region,
18:19when they invaded it
18:21one year ago,
18:22there is no military targets
18:25at all.
18:27All the targets
18:28which they have been hitting
18:29daily are civilian.
18:33They, by the way,
18:34took civilian hostages
18:35from there
18:36who had nothing to do
18:37with the conflict.
18:39Recently,
18:40they undertook
18:41the third attempt
18:42to blow up
18:44the Crimean Bridge.
18:46They attacked,
18:48a few days ago,
18:49another nuclear power station.
18:51They used to attack
18:52the one in Zaporizhzhia.
18:53Now they attack
18:54the nuclear power station
18:56in Smolensk.
18:58And they continue to do this.
19:01They continue to exercise
19:03terrorist attacks.
19:05There is no other way
19:06to call them.
19:08So, Mr. Foreign Minister?
19:09But if you believe,
19:11if you believe that
19:12if there is American capital
19:15in an enterprise
19:18which is used
19:20to produce weapons
19:22to kill Russians,
19:24and you believe that
19:25be it American,
19:27be it Hungarian,
19:28be it anybody's capital,
19:32that this is the,
19:34this gives impunity
19:35to those who build weapons
19:37to kill us?
19:38I don't think so.
19:39I don't think this is,
19:40this is fear.
19:41This is kind of,
19:43I would say,
19:44imperialistic.
19:46Mr. Foreign Minister,
19:47just to confirm,
19:49you are confirming
19:50that Russia did,
19:52in fact,
19:53target and attack
19:54the American-owned company
19:57that was hit this week.
20:00Look,
20:00you should be professor
20:02in the Soviet universities
20:05because you twisted
20:07very interestingly
20:09what I said.
20:10I did not say
20:11that I confirmed
20:12that incident.
20:12I never heard of it.
20:14I just asked
20:15a rhetorical question.
20:17Do you believe
20:18that if there is
20:19an enterprise
20:20producing weapons
20:22and being part
20:23of the Ukrainian
20:24military machine
20:25intended to produce things
20:28to kill Russian citizens
20:30and just because
20:32this enterprise
20:33happened to have
20:34some American capital
20:35on it,
20:35it should be immune?
20:37That was my question.
20:38I haven't heard
20:39about the episode,
20:40and if you can
20:41send me some reference
20:43to this incident
20:45to which you referred,
20:47I would look at it.
20:48Okay,
20:48Mr. Foreign Minister,
20:49President Trump says
20:50he thinks
20:51President Putin
20:52wants to end
20:53the war,
20:54but if you are
20:55serious about peace,
20:57why not
20:58stop dropping bombs?
21:00Why not agree
21:01to the ceasefire
21:02that President Trump
21:03has asked you for?
21:09There was some
21:10interruption,
21:12but we are dropping bombs.
21:13We come again
21:14and again
21:15to the same issue.
21:16We are dropping bombs
21:17on the targets
21:19which are directly
21:21involved
21:22in building
21:24Ukrainian military
21:26machine
21:27targeting
21:29the Russian
21:29civilians
21:30and continuing
21:32the war
21:33which Ukrainians
21:34started
21:36by instigation
21:37from
21:38Biden administration,
21:41from
21:41the Europeans,
21:44those who
21:45supported the coup
21:47in 2014
21:48and later
21:49was doing
21:51everything
21:52to turn
21:52Ukraine
21:53in an instrument
21:55to contain
21:57Russia
21:57and lately,
21:58a few years ago,
21:59it was announced
22:00that Ukraine
22:01is an instrument
22:02to inflict
22:04strategic defeat
22:05on the Russian
22:06Federation.
22:07But,
22:07Mr.
22:07So when
22:08I give the
22:10examples
22:10of what
22:12we are doing
22:13and this
22:13has been
22:14explained
22:15repeatedly,
22:16if you
22:17can provide
22:19us a proof
22:20that we
22:21hit
22:21any
22:23civilian target
22:24without,
22:26you know,
22:27indiscriminately,
22:29a target
22:30not linked
22:31to the military
22:32machine of Ukraine,
22:34we would be
22:34looking at this.
22:35Okay, Mr. Foreign,
22:36Mr.?
22:36The facts,
22:37the facts,
22:38the facts of Ukrainian,
22:39I think I should
22:40interview you,
22:41the facts of
22:42Ukrainians
22:43hitting
22:44purposefully,
22:48civilian targets
22:49are plentiful
22:50and they are
22:50available
22:51in the
22:53information
22:54which we are
22:54circulating
22:55to the international
22:56community.
22:57Mr. Foreign Minister,
22:59here are the facts,
23:00close to 50,000
23:02civilians
23:02have either
23:03been killed
23:04or injured
23:05in this war.
23:05Russia has hit
23:06maternity wards,
23:07churches,
23:08schools,
23:09hospitals,
23:10a kindergarten
23:10just this past week.
23:12So either
23:13the Russian military
23:14has terrible aim
23:15or you are
23:16targeting civilians,
23:17which is it?
23:19Look,
23:20look,
23:20NBC is a very
23:22respectful
23:23structure
23:25and I hope
23:27you are responsible
23:28for the words
23:30which you broadcast.
23:32I ask you
23:34to send us
23:35or to publicize
23:36the information
23:37to which you just
23:38referred
23:38because we
23:40never targeted
23:41the civilian
23:42targets
23:43of the kind
23:45you cited.
23:47You might be
23:47missing,
23:48you know,
23:49the information
23:49because
23:50it is a fact
23:51that quite a number
23:53of churches
23:54were purposefully
23:55hit
23:56by the Ukrainian
23:57regime.
23:58Quite a number
23:59of just
24:00civilian
24:01settlements.
24:03But what about
24:03your actions?
24:05What about
24:05your actions,
24:06Mr. Foreign
24:06Minister?
24:10Look,
24:10we're going
24:12by circles.
24:14I told you
24:15already
24:15what we
24:17mentioned
24:18repeatedly,
24:19that we never
24:20target civilian
24:21civilian sites,
24:23that we only
24:24attack
24:25the sites
24:26which are
24:26directly
24:27involved
24:28in the
24:29Ukrainian
24:30military
24:31machine,
24:32which the
24:32West is
24:33trying
24:33to
24:34beef up.
24:37And if
24:38you have
24:40any proof
24:41of what you
24:42just said
24:43about churches,
24:44kindergarten,
24:45schools,
24:45and so on
24:46and so forth,
24:47I challenge
24:48you.
24:48Make it public.
24:50Make it public
24:51with the dates,
24:52with the addresses,
24:53and so on
24:54and so forth.
24:55As I said,
24:56NBC is a
24:57very reputed
24:58broadcasting
25:00agency.
25:02Absolutely.
25:03It's all
25:03publicly,
25:04Mr. Foreign
25:04Minister,
25:04it's all
25:05publicly documented
25:06and we have
25:07reporters on the
25:07ground who've
25:08seen it with
25:09their own eyes.
25:09When you
25:11make such
25:12claims.
25:13All of the
25:13information is
25:14publicly available.
25:15We do have
25:16reporters on the
25:16ground who've
25:17seen these
25:18strikes with
25:19their own
25:20eyes.
25:20I do want to
25:21keep moving
25:21though and talk
25:22about security
25:22guarantees,
25:23an issue that
25:24you raised
25:25this week,
25:26and you have
25:26said right here
25:27today that
25:27Russia should
25:28have the
25:28power to
25:29reject any
25:30security
25:31guarantees for
25:32Ukraine.
25:33The Europeans
25:33say it's none
25:35of your
25:35business.
25:36Let me just
25:37ask the
25:37question.
25:38Why?
25:38Let me just
25:39ask the
25:39question though.
25:41Don't play
25:42Zelensky.
25:43Look,
25:44be an honest
25:45journalist.
25:46Mr.
25:47Foreign
25:48Minister,
25:48let me ask
25:49my question
25:49and then you
25:50can answer.
25:51Let me just
25:51ask my question
25:52and then you
25:52can answer.
25:52I haven't
25:54asked my
25:54question yet.
25:55Why should
25:56the country
25:57that's bombing
25:57Ukraine be
25:59responsible for
26:00the security
26:00of Ukraine?
26:04Why is the
26:05country and
26:06countries who
26:08prepared the
26:09anti-Russian
26:10coup in Ukraine,
26:12who pumped up
26:14modern weapons in
26:16Ukraine to
26:17attack the
26:17Russian territory,
26:19countries who
26:20supported the
26:20racist regime
26:22prohibiting human
26:23rights, which
26:26they have to
26:27respect under the
26:28United Nations
26:29Charter and many
26:30other conventions?
26:31Why should we be
26:32swallowing all
26:33this?
26:34I explained to
26:34you, I never
26:36said that Russia
26:37must have a veto
26:38on security
26:39guarantees, but
26:40security guarantees
26:41must be subject
26:43to consensus.
26:45I reminded you
26:46that it was
26:46okay for
26:48Ukrainians in
26:49April 2022
26:50to present
26:52a document
26:53which could
26:54have ended
26:55this war
26:55and which
26:56started by
26:57declaring that
26:58Ukraine is
26:59going to be
27:00neutral,
27:01non-block,
27:02non-nuclear.
27:03By the way,
27:05this statement,
27:06this declaration,
27:08not to have
27:08any nuclear
27:09weapons, not to
27:09be members of
27:10military blocs,
27:12and to remain
27:13the neutral
27:14status, this
27:15was the
27:15essence of
27:17Ukrainian
27:17declaration of
27:18independence
27:19in 1990.
27:20But, Mr.
27:21Lavrov...
27:21And this declaration
27:22of...
27:23It is because of
27:24this claim that
27:25they would never
27:26be NATO members,
27:27that they would
27:27never have nuclear
27:28weapons, and that
27:29they would be
27:30neutral, that they
27:31were recognized
27:32as an independent
27:32state.
27:34But, Mr.
27:36Foreign Minister,
27:36are you talking...
27:37If you believe
27:38that Russia being
27:41marginalized in the
27:44discussions on
27:44security issues on
27:46our borders, that
27:47this is something
27:48which is natural
27:49and normal, then
27:51I'm sorry, something
27:53is wrong with the
27:53philosophy of your
27:54channel.
27:55Just yes or no,
27:55are you talking
27:56about Russian boots
27:57on the ground?
28:00Where?
28:01In Ukraine,
28:02in that region?
28:05No, Russian boots
28:06on the ground
28:07are because this
28:13ground, this ground
28:15was moved, you
28:19know, was turned,
28:21was being turned
28:22in a stronghold
28:25to inflict strategic
28:27defeat upon the
28:28Russian Federation.
28:30The Russian boots on
28:31the ground are not to
28:33protect the ground.
28:34They are making sure
28:37that this ground would
28:38never be hosting weapons
28:41capable to reach the
28:43Russian territory.
28:45Russian boots on the
28:46ground are because this
28:48ground is the territory
28:50where hundreds and
28:52hundreds of years
28:53ethnic Russians and
28:55Russian-speaking people
28:56were living.
28:57They actually founded
28:58those lands.
28:59they historically
29:01developed Russian
29:04culture, Russian
29:05language, and they
29:07respected Russian
29:07history.
29:08Okay.
29:08And when all this,
29:10and when all this was
29:11prohibited after the coup
29:13took place, the coup
29:15which was very bloody
29:17and very unconstitutional,
29:20we did not have any
29:22other choice but to
29:23defend these people
29:24against the bluntly
29:27racist regime.
29:28And the proof
29:30that the regime
29:30is racist
29:31is plentiful
29:32and I hope
29:34that some days
29:34your correspondents
29:35could visit
29:36and see what is
29:37going on
29:38with glorification
29:40of military
29:41criminals,
29:43collaborators of Hitler,
29:46and so on.
29:48President Trump
29:49has been in office
29:49now for seven months
29:51and attacks
29:52against Ukraine
29:53have doubled
29:54in that time.
29:55If President Putin
29:56says the war
29:57wouldn't have started
29:58under President
29:59Trump, if that's the
30:01case, why is it
30:02escalating under
30:03President Trump?
30:06Look, it's
30:07becoming traditional
30:11for some of the
30:12broadcasting channels
30:15to simplify things.
30:17When President Trump
30:19said that the war
30:20wouldn't have happened
30:21had he been
30:21president at that time,
30:23that means, in my view,
30:26that the Americans
30:27would not prepare,
30:30finance, and organize
30:32the coup to topple
30:34legitimate president
30:35of Ukraine
30:36in February
30:372014.
30:39Just one day after
30:41a deal was reached
30:43between the president
30:45at that time
30:46and the opposition,
30:47the deal guaranteed
30:49by the European Union,
30:51Germany, France,
30:53Poland, and so on.
30:54And next morning,
30:56the opposition
30:56broke the deal.
30:58The deal was to create
30:59a government
30:59of national unity
31:01and hold early elections.
31:03And legitimate
31:04president agreed to this.
31:05The opposition signed
31:06this,
31:07the European Union
31:07guaranteed this,
31:08next morning
31:09there is a coup.
31:10And instead of
31:11government of national unity,
31:12the opposition announced
31:13that we created
31:14the government
31:15of the winners.
31:16Have you heard about this?
31:17I don't think so.
31:19They immediately stated
31:21when they took over
31:22all government buildings
31:23that their first action
31:25would be canceling
31:27the status
31:27of the Russian language.
31:29Mr. Foreign Minister,
31:30let's talk about right now.
31:32And they sent military groups
31:32to storm Crimean Parliament.
31:35That's how this all started.
31:37Let's talk about
31:38what's happening now.
31:39So I don't think
31:39that President Trump,
31:40with his concentration
31:41on MAGA,
31:43on the national interests
31:45of the United States,
31:46on the common sense,
31:48would ever get involved
31:50in preparing a coup
31:52against legitimate president
31:54in any country.
31:55Okay, again...
31:56Including Ukraine.
31:57That's...
31:57No, no, no.
31:58I'm answering your question.
32:00Why did we think
32:02that President Trump
32:03would have avoided
32:05this situation?
32:06I answered you.
32:07But I want to ask
32:08about what is happening
32:09on the ground
32:10right now.
32:11Attacks against Ukraine
32:14have doubled
32:15in the time
32:16since President Trump
32:17took office.
32:18If President Putin
32:19has so much regard...
32:20On the ground, on the ground, we are...
32:21If President Putin
32:22has so much regard
32:23for President Trump,
32:25why is he taking actions
32:26that are undermining
32:27his push for peace?
32:30President Putin
32:31has regard for President Trump
32:33respecting
32:34President Trump's
32:36concentration
32:37on the interests,
32:39national interests
32:40of the United States,
32:41national interests
32:43and well-being,
32:44and historic heritage
32:46of the American people.
32:48And I don't have any doubt
32:50that President Trump
32:51respects the same attitude
32:54of President Putin
32:55to protecting
32:56national interests
32:57of Russia,
32:58to protecting
32:59basic interests
33:00of the Russian citizens,
33:02including the right
33:04to be
33:07a nation
33:10which has
33:12very rich history,
33:14very rich traditions,
33:15and which
33:16has
33:17the duty,
33:19if you wish,
33:20to support those
33:21who share
33:23the values
33:24of the Russian language,
33:26Russian world,
33:26if you wish.
33:28And when,
33:28you know,
33:29once the United States
33:31launched
33:32a military attack,
33:35it was last century,
33:36a military attack
33:37against,
33:39I think,
33:41Guatemala
33:42or some other
33:43Central American countries
33:44because
33:44one of the journalists
33:46were physically attacked,
33:49American citizens,
33:50American journalists.
33:52And this
33:53was never
33:54causing any questions
33:57in the American media.
33:58We are protecting
34:00millions
34:01of ethnic Russian
34:03and Russian-speaking people
34:05who wanted to be
34:07citizens of Ukraine,
34:10but the coup leaders
34:11who took power
34:12in Ukraine
34:13declared them terrorists.
34:15And Zelensky,
34:16long before
34:17the special military operation,
34:19in an interview
34:19to One Western Media,
34:21he said
34:22those who are fighting
34:25the regime
34:25who decided
34:27decided that the regime
34:28doesn't represent
34:29the interest
34:30after the coup.
34:31They are not people.
34:32They are species.
34:34And he also said
34:36that if you believe
34:37that living in Ukraine,
34:39you belong to Russian culture,
34:42Russian history,
34:43then for the sake
34:45and safety
34:46of your children
34:47and grandchildren,
34:48get out of Ukraine
34:49and go to Russia.
34:50Mr. Foreign Minister,
34:51let me...
34:52Is it the kind
34:53of democracy
34:54the Americans,
34:56the Americans support?
34:58Mr. Foreign Minister,
34:59let me ask you
35:00about something
35:00that President Putin
35:01said in June.
35:03He said, quote,
35:04I consider the Russian
35:05and Ukrainian people
35:06to be one nation.
35:08In this sense,
35:09all of Ukraine
35:10is ours.
35:12Does President Putin
35:14believe that Ukraine
35:15has a right to exist?
35:16No, this is not true.
35:22Ukraine has the right
35:23to exist,
35:24provided it...
35:26It must let people go.
35:30The people
35:31whom they call terrorists,
35:32whom they call specious,
35:34and who,
35:35during a referenda,
35:37several referenda
35:39in Novorossia,
35:42in Donbass,
35:43in Crimea,
35:44decided that they belong
35:46to the Russian culture,
35:48and the government,
35:49which came to power
35:50as a result of the coup,
35:51was determined
35:52as a priority
35:53to exterminate everything.
35:55But as you also know,
35:56a number of those people
35:57did not want Russia...
35:58This is about...
35:59A number of those people
36:00did not want Russia
36:01to invade.
36:02Mr. Foreign Minister,
36:03do you acknowledge
36:04that Russia invaded Ukraine?
36:07Well, democracy
36:08is about the people
36:09having a chance to vote.
36:11The people voted.
36:13The people pronounced themselves.
36:15And...
36:15Did Russia invade Ukraine,
36:17Mr. Foreign Minister?
36:18Did Russia invade Ukraine?
36:22Russia started
36:23special military operation
36:25to defend the people
36:27whom Zelensky
36:29and his predecessor
36:30did not consider as humans.
36:34They called them
36:35beings, species.
36:37You should look.
36:39You should really...
36:40I understand that you need
36:43something to sell today.
36:45But if you are raising
36:46and touching upon
36:47so serious things,
36:49my suggestion is
36:51to take a look
36:52at the history
36:52of Ukrainian development
36:55after the coup in 2014.
36:57Let me...
36:57But it's a yes or no question.
37:00It's a yes or no question,
37:01Mr. Foreign Minister.
37:01Do you acknowledge
37:02Russia invaded Ukraine?
37:03I said to you
37:06that we started
37:07special military operations
37:09to protect...
37:10To protect the people
37:12whom the regime
37:14declared terrorists
37:15and enemies
37:16and whom the regime
37:17was bombing.
37:18Look, one thing,
37:19one thing about the facts.
37:21You were asking me
37:21about churches
37:23and so on,
37:24allegedly bombed by Russia.
37:27One very blunt thing,
37:28the simplest on earth.
37:29And I would ask you
37:31as a journalist
37:32whether you are
37:33professionally proud
37:35of what you are doing.
37:37In April 2022,
37:40when a deal
37:41was negotiated
37:42in Istanbul
37:42but the Brits
37:44and the Biden administration
37:45prohibited
37:46Ukrainian regime
37:48to endorse this deal,
37:51there was an incident
37:54in Bucha,
37:55the outskirts of Kiev,
37:57when, as a gesture
37:59of goodwill
38:00to make the deal
38:02I mentioned happen,
38:04Russians withdrew
38:05from that part
38:07of the Ukrainian territory,
38:09this place called Bucha
38:10was retaken
38:13by Ukrainian authorities
38:14and the mayor of Bucha
38:16was on TV
38:16saying how good
38:18that we are back
38:19in our city.
38:20And two days later,
38:22BBC broadcasting team
38:25showed the images
38:26of central street
38:29of that Bucha
38:30with bodies,
38:32dozens of bodies
38:33laying in some
38:36interesting order.
38:38They immediately
38:39accused Russia,
38:41they immediately,
38:42I mean the West,
38:43introduced new package
38:44of sanctions
38:45and we still
38:47three and a half years
38:49thereafter,
38:50we cannot get
38:51any response
38:52to our official request
38:53to circulate,
38:55to share
38:56some information
38:57about what
38:58actually happened there.
39:00Miss,
39:00I publicly,
39:02wait a second,
39:03I'm coming to NBC,
39:04I'm coming to NBC.
39:06Several times
39:07when I was in New York
39:08for the General Assembly sessions,
39:11I was meeting
39:12with the media
39:12including NBC correspondents,
39:15and I said,
39:16this Bucha incident
39:18was used
39:19to raise stakes
39:21against Russia
39:21in this situation.
39:23Can you,
39:24and we requested
39:25the Secretary General
39:26of the United Nations,
39:28of OSC,
39:29other organizations,
39:30can you make sure
39:32that the names
39:33of the persons
39:35whose bodies
39:36were shown by BBC
39:37are made public?
39:39Silence.
39:40Then I asked the,
39:42last year
39:43and year before last,
39:44I asked
39:45at my press conference
39:47the UN correspondents,
39:49guys,
39:50normally journalists
39:51are very intrusive,
39:54they would like
39:54to know facts,
39:55can you start
39:56a journalistic investigation?
39:58Can you demand
39:59that the names
40:00of the people
40:01whose bodies
40:01were shown
40:02were broadcast
40:03by BBC
40:03be made public?
40:05So,
40:06I think it would be
40:07an interesting case
40:09for NBC as well.
40:10All right,
40:10Mr. Foreign Minister,
40:11I understand
40:12there is a lot
40:13of history.
40:13We want to talk
40:14about what's going
40:14to happen next,
40:15though,
40:16and I want to talk
40:16about these discussions.
40:18There are reports
40:18as a part
40:19of the peace deal,
40:20Russia is demanding
40:21control of all
40:23of Donbass,
40:24even though much
40:25of it still remains
40:26under Ukrainian control,
40:27and Russia wants
40:29to freeze the rest
40:30of the front lines.
40:31Is that what Russia
40:32is asking for?
40:33We explained
40:37during our meetings
40:39with President Trump,
40:42with other American officials,
40:45we explained
40:45the goals
40:48of the special
40:49military operation.
40:50Actually,
40:50we explained them
40:51to everybody publicly,
40:53but apparently NBC
40:54was not listening
40:57attentively.
40:59We have the goals
41:00which will be achieved.
41:02The goals are
41:03to remove
41:05any security threats
41:07to Russia
41:08coming from
41:09the Ukrainian territory,
41:11to protect
41:12the rights
41:13of the ethnic Russian
41:14and Russian-speaking
41:15people
41:16who believe
41:17they belong
41:18to the Russian culture
41:19and Russian history,
41:21and the only way
41:22to protect them
41:23against this
41:24racist regime
41:25is to give them
41:29the right
41:29to express their will.
41:31They did,
41:33in 2014 in Crimea,
41:35in 2022
41:36in Donetsk
41:37and Lugansk
41:38republics,
41:39and later
41:40in Kherson
41:41and Zaporizhia regions.
41:43So this is
41:44implementation
41:46of the goal
41:47of special
41:48military operation.
41:50The goal is based
41:51on the respect
41:52for the United Nations
41:53charter,
41:53which says
41:54you cannot discriminate
41:55human rights
41:56in any area,
41:59including language
42:00and religion rights.
42:01Mr. Foreign Minister?
42:02Which is totally ignored
42:03by the regime.
42:05I just want to be very clear
42:06for people.
42:07We,
42:08as I said,
42:09Ukraine must remain neutral,
42:11must remain
42:12out of any military blocks,
42:15and must remain non-nuclear.
42:17Those are the
42:18stepping stones
42:20in the declaration
42:22of independence
42:23of 1990,
42:25and those are the principles
42:26which made it possible
42:27to recognize Ukraine
42:29as an independent state.
42:30You said,
42:31let's not go into history.
42:33We don't want,
42:34forget about history,
42:35because everything
42:36which is going now
42:37has reasons
42:39in the decades
42:40and decades
42:41of years
42:43when the West
42:44was building NATO,
42:47was moving NATO
42:48directly on Russian borders,
42:49and was building Ukraine
42:51as an instrument
42:52to defeat Russia
42:54in the battlefield,
42:55as it were.
42:55Okay,
42:56well,
42:56speaking of history,
42:57Russia was a part
42:58of the 1994
42:59Budapest Memorandum,
43:01which guaranteed
43:02Ukraine security,
43:03but Russia violated
43:04that agreement
43:05when it invaded
43:06Ukraine in 2014.
43:09Why should Russia
43:10be trusted
43:11with Ukraine's security
43:14and a peace agreement?
43:16Have you read
43:17the Budapest Memorandum?
43:20Yes.
43:21What does it say?
43:22There's a security agreement
43:24between a number
43:25of countries,
43:26including you
43:27and Ukraine,
43:28not to invade
43:30another country,
43:31and that's exactly
43:32what you did.
43:35No,
43:35you don't,
43:36you don't,
43:37it seems
43:38you did not read it.
43:40The Budapest Memorandum
43:41was signed
43:43by...
43:43And Ukraine gave up
43:44its nuclear weapons,
43:46Mr. Foreign Minister.
43:47That was a critical piece of it.
43:48May I answer you?
43:50May I answer you?
43:51Yes.
43:52Ukraine gave up
43:53the nuclear weapons,
43:55exactly,
43:56and then
43:57it was
43:58the memorandum
43:59guaranteed
44:00the security
44:01of Ukraine
44:02as of any other
44:04non-nuclear state.
44:06And the legal obligations
44:09of the nuclear states
44:10when they give guarantees
44:13to non-nuclear countries
44:14is not to attack,
44:16to use nuclear weapons
44:18against non-nuclear states.
44:20We never,
44:21ever signed up
44:23to providing security
44:26to Ukraine
44:28after illegal,
44:30bloody coup d'etat,
44:32which brought to power
44:34open nazists
44:36and racists
44:36under anti-Russian slogans.
44:39When they said
44:40that we changed
44:41our constitution,
44:43now the constitution says
44:44they would be
44:45members of NATO.
44:46Now Zelensky
44:49in, I think,
44:51January 22
44:52was saying
44:52that it was a mistake
44:54to reject
44:56nuclear weapons
44:57and they might think
44:59about having them again.
45:00This is not something
45:02which we guaranteed
45:03in the Budapest Memorandum.
45:05All right.
45:06Just to be...
45:07Apart from this,
45:08wait a second, please.
45:09Budapest Memorandum
45:11was accompanied
45:12by a declaration
45:13by the participants,
45:15by those who signed
45:16the Budapest Memorandum,
45:18which said
45:19that all participants,
45:21including Ukraine,
45:23would respect
45:23human rights,
45:25would respect
45:26the rules of OAS,
45:28principles of OAS,
45:29non-aggression,
45:31and so on and so forth,
45:33which was grossly violated
45:35by those
45:37who took power
45:38in Ukraine
45:38in February 2024,
45:412014,
45:42with the help
45:43of the United States
45:45when Victoria Nuland
45:48proudly stated
45:49that eventually
45:50we spent
45:51five billion bucks,
45:52but we achieved
45:53what we wanted.
45:54She said this
45:55after the coup.
45:56Okay.
45:56Mr. Foreign Minister...
45:57But this is history.
45:59This is history.
46:00I just want to be very clear.
46:01It's the only concession
46:03Russia is offering
46:05not to invade
46:06the rest of Ukraine.
46:08Is that your concession?
46:10No, we don't speak
46:12in those terms.
46:13We don't have
46:15any interest
46:16in territories.
46:18We have the biggest
46:19territory on Earth.
46:21What we are concerned about,
46:23unlike those
46:25who raised the issue
46:26of invasion,
46:27taking more and more land,
46:29we are concerned
46:29about the people
46:30who live on those lands,
46:33whose ancestors
46:34lived there
46:35for centuries and centuries,
46:36were founding cities,
46:40were building factories,
46:42ports,
46:43developing agriculture.
46:45And these people
46:46are now
46:48called
46:49foreigners.
46:51Well, what about
46:52the thousands
46:53of those people
46:53who live on those lands
46:55who've been killed
46:55by Russian bombs,
46:57Mr. Foreign Minister?
47:00All right.
47:01Look, I'm awfully sorry,
47:03but the primitivism
47:04of questions...
47:05You repeat the same
47:07and only question
47:09again and again.
47:10And I ask you,
47:12please,
47:13kindly,
47:14send me
47:15the list of those churches,
47:17the list of those
47:18kindergartens,
47:19please.
47:19And I will send you
47:20the factual information
47:22information about
47:23how Ukrainian army
47:25is fighting
47:27only civilians.
47:29I give you the example
47:31of the Kursk region.
47:34There is no military sites
47:35at all.
47:37There was also
47:38a terrorist attack
47:38on the passenger train,
47:41but you never reported this.
47:43Mr. Foreign Minister,
47:45the reality is
47:46so much of this
47:47has been captured
47:49on television.
47:52We have reporters
47:52on the ground.
47:53I will send you
47:54a list as well,
47:55but the bottom line
47:56is the world
47:56has watched
47:57with its own eyes
47:59as people
48:00in all of these regions
48:02that have been
48:03taken over
48:04by Russian troops
48:05have been killed.
48:06We have seen that
48:08with our own eyes.
48:09We have watched it
48:10with our own eyes,
48:10but let me ask you.
48:13No, I remember
48:15many images
48:16saying that Ukrainian
48:18civilians are being
48:20attacked by Russians,
48:21and then these images
48:22would turn out
48:23to be taken in Iraq
48:2510 or 20 years ago.
48:28So my question is,
48:30do you believe NBC,
48:33your policy,
48:35does it provide
48:35for acceptance,
48:37the extermination
48:39by law
48:40of a language
48:42in any country?
48:44Mr. Foreign Minister,
48:46I want to just ask you,
48:48when you landed in Alaska,
48:50you were wearing
48:50a USSR sweatshirt.
48:52Were you sending a signal
48:55that Russia wants
48:56to reestablish
48:57the former Soviet Union?
49:00No.
49:02We were born
49:03in the Soviet Union.
49:06President Putin
49:06repeatedly stated
49:07that those
49:11who are not sorry
49:13what happened
49:16to the Soviet Union,
49:18they don't have a heart.
49:21But those
49:21who want
49:22to restore
49:22the Soviet Union,
49:24they don't have
49:25any brains.
49:26This is
49:26absolutely correct statement.
49:29We have recognized
49:30all the former
49:31Soviet republics
49:32as independent states.
49:35we develop relations
49:36with them
49:37as fully independent states.
49:40But when
49:40countries like Ukraine
49:43begin
49:45to, you know,
49:48physically
49:49and by law
49:50exterminating
49:52everything Russian,
49:54as if,
49:55as if,
49:55I don't know,
49:57in any country,
50:00English language
50:02would be prohibited.
50:03History would be prohibited.
50:05American history
50:06would be prohibited.
50:08This is not the case.
50:09The Soviet Union,
50:11and if you don't remember
50:12your roots,
50:13if you don't
50:15have nostalgic,
50:16you know,
50:18memories
50:18about your
50:20childhood,
50:21about your youth,
50:23about your first love,
50:24about your friends,
50:25then I don't think
50:26you really
50:30represent humanity
50:33and the human values.
50:36Mr. Foreign Minister?
50:37To remember,
50:38to remember
50:39and to cherish
50:40what happened
50:41in your life
50:42for many years
50:44is not
50:46the same
50:47as to
50:48try to
50:49take over militarily
50:51each and every place.
50:53This is not true.
50:54Does Russia,
50:55does President Putin
50:56want peace?
50:59Yes.
51:02And what say you
51:04to U.S. lawmakers here
51:06who believe
51:06you are stringing along
51:08President Trump?
51:09Are you?
51:11It is,
51:12it is not
51:13for the
51:14lawmakers
51:15or for any
51:17media outlets
51:19to
51:20decide,
51:22you know,
51:23what President Trump
51:24is motivated
51:26by,
51:27we
51:27respect
51:28President Trump
51:29because
51:30President Trump
51:31defends
51:31American national
51:32interests
51:33and I have
51:34reason to believe
51:35that President Trump
51:36respects
51:37President Putin
51:37because he
51:38defends
51:39Russian national
51:40interests
51:40and whatever
51:41they discuss
51:42between themselves
51:43is not
51:45a secret.
51:46We want
51:47peace in Ukraine.
51:48He wants,
51:48President Trump
51:49wants peace
51:49in Ukraine.
51:50the reaction
51:52to encourage
51:52meeting,
51:54the gathering
51:55in Washington
51:57of these
51:58European
51:59representatives
52:00and what they
52:02were doing
52:02after Washington
52:03indicates
52:04that they
52:05don't want
52:06peace.
52:07They say
52:07we cannot
52:08allow
52:09defeat
52:11of Ukraine.
52:14We cannot
52:15allow Russia
52:16to win.
52:16they speak
52:17in these
52:18terms,
52:19win,
52:19defeat,
52:20and so on
52:20and so forth.
52:21We
52:21proposed
52:22several times
52:26peaceful
52:27resolution
52:28on a diplomatic
52:29basis
52:30and as I
52:31said,
52:31it was not
52:32us
52:32who
52:33blowed up
52:34the deal
52:36practically
52:37ready in
52:38April
52:382022.
52:40It was
52:41personally
52:41Boris Johnson
52:42and it was
52:43personally
52:43several
52:44officials
52:45from the
52:46Biden
52:46administration,
52:47the French
52:48and the Germans.
52:49We know
52:49this.
52:50Russian
52:51Foreign Minister
52:51Sergei Lavrov,
52:52thank you so
52:53very much
52:54for your time.
52:54We really
52:55appreciate it.
52:56Thank you
52:56very much.
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