Lavrov says NATO's reaction to Ukraine's calls has cooled Zelensky's ardor

16 March 2022


NATO's reaction to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's calls for the alliance to close the sky over the country and fight on its side has cooled his ardor, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the RBC television channel on Wednesday.


"We remember how President Zelensky, as recently as a few weeks ago, talked about the need for NATO to close the skies, to start fighting for Ukraine, to recruit mercenaries and send them to the front," he said. - "This was quite aggressively outlined, but apparently the reaction of the North Atlantic Alliance, which still has sensible people, cooled this ardor."


Lavrov said that "the adequacy of the current situation deserves to be applauded".


On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a special military operation in Ukraine in response to an appeal for help from the leaders of the Donbass republics. He stressed that Moscow's plans do not include occupation of Ukrainian territories; the goal is the demilitarization and denazification of the country. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian military does not strike cities, but only disables military infrastructure, so the civilian population is not threatened.

 

 

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Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry

Based on materials from TASS