Lavrov's Rare Rebuke Of Trump: In Reality, Relations No Better Than Under Biden
The Kremlin has lashed out at the Trump administration in a rare moment, revealing its impatience and dissatisfaction with the way trilateral talks focused on ending the Ukraine war are going.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a fresh interview also accused Washington of sabotaging efforts to improve bilateral relations while undermining negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The charge is ironic, given it is typically the West which mounts the same accusation at Moscow.
"Despite all the statements by the Trump administration about the need to end the war… it does not challenge all the laws that Joe Biden passed to punish Russia after the start of the special military operation," Lavrov said in an interview with TV BRICS.
"In practice, the opposite is happening: new sanctions are being imposed, a war is being waged against tankers on the high seas, in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea," he said in reference to recent actions involving the US seizing shadow fleet tankers.
The Trump administration also slapped sanctions on the two Russian oil giants Lukoil and Rosneft - in a controversial action last fall.
Moscow is also likely disappointed that President Trump hasn't pressured Zelensky into making serious territorial concessions using the significant leverage Washington has over Kiev.
Lavrov asserted that Trump reneged on certain "understandings" reached directly with President Putin at the Anchorage summit in August.
"Beyond what they claimed to offer on Ukraine … we also see no positive outlook on the economic front," Lavrov said in the interview. "Washington, in our view, is seeking control over global energy supply routes serving major economies across multiple continents."
Russia wants to cooperate with the US toward achieving peace, Lavrov continued, but he went on to say that "the Americans themselves are creating artificial obstacles on this path" - or in essence, sabotaging peace.
This kind of criticism by Russia has typically been reserved only for Europe. EU leaders have remained much more out in the open in terms of imposing extra 'obstacles' and conditions on US-proposed peace measures. So this kind of directly taking aim at Trump is a break from past rhetoric.
On Europe and its newly investing in defense, Lavrov has said, "We have no intention of attacking Europe. There is no reason to do so."
"If Europe acts on its threats to prepare for war against us and initiates an attack on the Russian Federation, it will face a full-fledged military response from our side, with all available military capabilities," the Russian top diplomat added.