We didn't want foreign land: Russian Foreign Minister makes cynical claim on war with Ukraine
Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (getty images)
The Russian Federation has never wanted foreign land. In reality, Russia was simply concerned about people's rights, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
"It's not about territories; we never wanted foreign land," Lavrov stated.
According to the diplomat, Russia simply wanted "people to be treated humanely."
"We wanted people who are part of the Russian world to be treated humanely, as international law requires," said the Russian Foreign Minister.
Lavrov also criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace formula. He said that "many ideas floating around Zelenskyy’s formula generally start with calls to stop hostilities and respect international law, meaning ensuring Ukraine’s territorial integrity."
"International law is not just about that. Firstly, territorial integrity is guaranteed by states whose governments represent the entire population living in the respective territory. This decision by the General Assembly is unanimous. The fact that the neo-Nazis in Kyiv after the coup did not represent anyone in eastern Ukraine, in Novorossiya, and in Crimea, in my opinion, cannot be proved. But the main point is that the UN Charter requires respect for human rights, for every person, regardless of race, gender, language, and religion. This is the root of the conflict in Ukraine," Lavrov said.
Russia's chairmanship of the UN Security Council
In July, Russia chaired the UN Security Council. During this period, Ukraine’s permanent representative to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, stated that Russia was capable of committing the most abhorrent crimes while holding the chairmanship.
On July 11, the UN General Assembly approved a resolution on nuclear safety and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). The main point of the document is the necessity of demilitarization and de-occupation of the ZNPP in light of Russia’s failure to implement resolutions from the IAEA’s governing bodies.
