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Kiev seeks image of ‘victim of Russian aggression’ through Black Sea provocations — Lavrov

There are politicians in Kiev, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky who would like ‘to whip up tension’ and would very much want "to stage some provocation to prompt Russia’s reaction," the foreign minister said

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. Kiev is exploiting the escalation of the situation in the Black Sea to portray itself as ‘a victim of Russian aggression’, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at the ministry’s enlarged board meeting on Thursday.

"Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined quite clearly our assessments of what is taking place in the Black Sea. We see deliberate provocations, the situation repeatedly portrayed by artists, filmmakers and novelists, in particular, in the film ‘Wag the Dog,’" the foreign minister said.

"All that is happening largely reflects the Kiev regime’s desire to portray itself as a victim of ‘Russian aggression,’ which they now see and now deny," Lavrov said.

There are politicians in Kiev, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky who would like ‘to whip up tension’ and would very much want "to stage some provocation to prompt Russia’s reaction," the foreign minister said.

"They are doing this in the hope that, as Ostap Bender [the main character of the popular Soviet satirical novel] used to say, abroad will help us," Lavrov added.

Russia’s foreign minister slammed as "utterly irresponsible" the statements by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who actually guaranteed Ukraine’s NATO membership and his UK counterpart Ben Wallace who vowed that Great Britain would build naval bases in the Azov Sea and would send about 600 commandos to the region to defend Ukraine from the alleged Russian aggression.

"On the one hand, they seem to be serious people; on the other hand, it is ludicrous and, what’s more, this is very dangerous because they may be doing this just to deflect attention from some other problems. In general, the Brits should display their activity somewhere on the international scene because they have exited the EU and cannot get accustomed with their new position and have now proclaimed the Global Britain strategy. Of course, it is necessary to ascertain yourself but this looks both ludicrous and provocative," Lavrov said.

"These serious people cannot but understand there are a lot of people holding various posts in Ukraine who are just waiting for the West to make such a provocation that will entail our response. This should be clearly understood in all the Western capitals, especially in Washington, because without Washington none would utter a word or stir a finger there," the Russian foreign minister said.

Situation in the Black Sea

Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on November 10 that US Navy ships arrived in the Black Sea to take part in the US European Command’s multinational drills in the region. According to the ministry’s data, the US guided missile destroyer Porter, fleet replenishment oil tanker John Lenthall and command and staff ship Mount Whitney entered the Black Sea for the multinational exercise. On November 15, the Mount Whitney departed for the Mediterranean Sea, following the completion of the exercise.

Russia’s Defense Ministry slammed these maneuvers as a destabilizing factor in the region intended to use Ukrainian territory for military goals. The Russian armed forces were closely watching the situation in the region, the ministry assured.