Russia criticizes US for using force to damage global security structure

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Photo: AP

Foreign Minister Lavrov also warned that US actions would ultimately lead to “fatal mistakes”.

“Washington and its allies are not ready to adapt to global realities that are changing to their disadvantage... Focusing on conflicts with the use of force will inevitably lead to a serious deterioration of the global security architecture and encourage an arms race. It is likely that such a situation will arise, where the price for mistakes or misunderstandings will be very high,” Lavrov stressed in an interview with Sputnik.

Also in the interview, Foreign Minister Lavrov affirmed that although Russia is not interested in an arms race or a new “missile crisis,” Russia will not tolerate the US developing new missiles that threaten Moscow or its allies.

“We are forced to warn that we cannot and will not ignore the appearance of new missiles developed by the United States that could pose a threat to us or our allies. We certainly have the necessary countermeasures to ensure our security and the possibility of further strengthening our defense capabilities. However, Russia, like any other sensible country, is not interested in a new arms race or missile crisis,” Lavrov said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Photo: Getty

Referring to the situation surrounding the US decision to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, Mr. Lavrov said that Washington expressed reluctance to cooperate on this issue.

In the interview, referring to neighboring Ukraine, Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed concern about the anti-Russian campaign being waged by Ukrainian officials ahead of the country’s elections. However, Lavrov expressed hope that Ukraine would one day be led by “reasonable leaders” capable of engaging in constructive dialogue. Ukraine is scheduled to hold presidential elections on March 31, 2019.