Russian Foreign Ministry: "Zelensky Provokes World War... Special Military Operation Justified"

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (left) is attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states' foreign ministers meeting held on July 29 (local time) in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "We cannot overlook Ukraine's reckless actions that pose risks of using various weapons of mass destruction."

On the 7th (local time), according to foreign media including Sputnik, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with the ruling United Russia Party, regarding Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's mention the previous day that an attack on Russia is necessary to prevent the use of nuclear weapons.

President Zelensky had raised the necessity of an attack to prevent a Russian nuclear strike during a video conference with the Australian think tank Lowy Institute. However, he did not specify the method of attack or the necessity of using nuclear weapons.

Minister Lavrov said, "This statement is nothing but a call to start a world war," adding, "It is evidence of the threats posed by Ukraine and also the reason why the 'special military operation' began." He further warned, "We caution the United States and other countries assisting Ukraine not to become more deeply involved in the conflict."

Recently, Russia annexed four Ukrainian-occupied regions: Donetsk, Luhansk (Russian name Lugansk), Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson, and has threatened to use nuclear weapons to defend these areas. President Vladimir Putin claimed on the 21st of last month that the West is posing a nuclear threat to Russia.

Additionally, Minister Lavrov said, "Russia is interested in building cooperative relationships with our Chinese friends in various energy sectors including oil and gas, nuclear power, hydrogen, solar, and wind energy." Since the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has expanded alternative trading partners such as China and India to counter Western energy sanctions. On the 15th of last month, President Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed at a summit to support each other's core interests and to expand energy cooperation between the two countries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.