It is quite obvious that the U.S. is (ab-)using Europe to up the pressure on its super-power competitor Russia. But Russia is refraining for calling out Washington for what it is doing. It seems to hold on to the illusion that a deal can be done.
[R]emarks by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Apr 24 2026
Lavrov is describing the “West” as a united menace to the rest of the world. But he separates the U.S. for its (alleged) policy differences with the EU over Ukraine. This while the CIA is daily directing Ukrainian drones onto Russian proper.
Excerpts:
The collective West policy is posing the main threat to international peace and security. We continue to call it “collective,” although the collective part is now being torn by disagreements. However, their strategic goal, we have no doubt about it, remains the same and is to dominate by any means, to dominate and continue dominating, and to preserve their hegemony for as long as possible, while containing the growth of new global centres and competitors in the World Majority countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Every day we observe, we are, in fact, shown in real time that in order to preserve their hegemony and to achieve these unseemly goals, illegal sanctions, plunder, the theft of other countries’ sovereign assets, blackmail, threats and, of course, the use of military force are employed, as we saw in Venezuela and now in Iran – all of that in blatant violation of international law.
The assessment that the unprovoked aggression by the Americans and Israelis against Iran has seriously destabilised the situation in the Middle East doesn’t even begin to cover it, because the situation is now becoming destabilised globally and all countries are assessing their prospects for economic development, energy supply sources, and so on. The continuation of the conflict (which, it appears, is far from over) will have the most negative repercussions for the entire international community, for the economic situation of most of humanity, and for global security.
EU abuse of Ukraine against Russia:
A war against us has been openly declared. The Kiev regime is being used as the tip of the spear. However, everyone is aware that this tip is unusable without Western supplies of weapons, intelligence data, satellite systems, training of military personnel, and much more. …
In order to justify their policy, the West – above all the international bureaucracy in Brussels (both EU and NATO, which are increasingly becoming one), as well as Berlin, Paris, and, of course, London – are attempting to demonise everything Russian and openly speak about gearing up for war with us in the foreseeable future.
The U.S. as a different beast:
The logic of the Americans in relations with most countries (I have not heard anyone say this in dialogue with us, and I hope I never will) is that if you do not do as I say, I will punish you. In other words, I do not promise anything, but you must give me what I want; and if you don’t, I will punish you. This is not a balance of interests, and certainly not an honest conversation.
The role each play on Ukraine:
Zelensky recently travelled to Cyprus and met with EU representatives to discuss guarantees for his continued hold on power and that of his clique, while keeping in place everything that has become another key underlying cause of the current situation, namely, the unleashed war and the legislative eradication of everything associated with Russia: the Russian language in education, the media and culture, and the destruction of canonical Orthodoxy. This is also part of the West’s civilisational aggression against the Russian Federation, because they planned and began to create civilisational threats on our state borders of that time in the very centre of the Russian world.
The same kind of civilisational aggression showed itself in encouraging Zelensky’s regime to eliminate everything Russian and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This is also part of the aggression against us, against Russia as a civilisation. This is how the West is leveraging the Nazi regime in Ukraine. When we are told that we should somehow resolve the Donbass issue, and that perhaps they will talk Zelensky into making concessions or, perhaps, Russia will make concessions and everything will be fine. Nothing will be fine. The West has openly stated that it was developing security guarantees for a regime that is viewed as a long-term threat to our country and will be used, among other things, for more military adventures. They have declared that all of this will begin in the 2029-2030 timeframe.
That is why we value the fact that the United States, despite the specifics of its actions, is taking a position of publicly outlining the underlying causes (in an approximation of their real understanding) and – most importantly – taking concrete steps: no NATO expansion and sticking to the understandings reached during the Alaska summit. Soon, we will mark the first anniversary of the Anchorage meeting. Over this period, the Europeans – credit must be given to their audacity – and Zelensky have done a great deal to push the Americans off the course that we had adopted and to continue their games aimed at destroying a geopolitical competitor.
I do believe that Lavrov’s distinction between the U.S. and EU/NATO-Europe with regards to Ukraine is purely tactical.
Russia is still hoping to make a deal with Trump. But I am sure that it is well aware that it is the U.S. which is pushing for further European’s aggression against Russia.
Why else would Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, laud the German government plans for expanding its military if not for waging war against Russia:
President Trump has rightly laid out that Europe must step up, and NATO must no longer be a paper tiger.
Through the historic Hague Commitments, Europe has begun to do so.
But the key now is, in the words of SecGen Rutte, action over words. As Rutte put it this week, “Air defense systems, drones, ammunition, radars, space capabilities — that is what will keep us safe.” 1/Germany is now taking the leading role in this. After years of disarmament, Berlin is stepping up. The DOW is already working closely with European allies, especially Germany, to accelerate this transition to NATO 3.0. 2/
Berlin’s new Military Strategy shows a clear path forward and we look forward to collaborating closely with the FRG to implement this. Below are some key excerpts: 3/
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Germany’s Military Strategy represents a clear, credible way forward to NATO 3.0: A NATO in which Europe and Canada step up to meet their responsibilities within the Alliance and transform it from a paper tiger to a strong deterrent and defense.President Trump has provided the clear and consistent message Europe and Canada need to hear. We at DoW stand ready to engage and aid those who heed his message and take real action at the speed of relevance. 10/10