MOSCOW, November 12. /TASS/. An increasing number of Russia's partners understand that reasons for the conflict in Ukraine did not arise overnight, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a meeting with university graduates starting their diplomatic careers.
"More and more of our partners from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, when told that 'Russia should be condemned because it attacked,' are beginning to understand that all this (the conflict in Ukraine - TASS) was not fomented overnight," he said.
Russia’s top diplomat pointed to many years of efforts in Ukraine to eradicate the Russian language in education, news media and culture, and to the recent law that bans the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"Neither UNESCO, nor the OSCE, nor those who have a duty to protect human rights in accordance with the statutes of their organizations, have ever lifted a finger," Lavrov said. "Against the background of what I am talking about and how the Kiev regime is taking action to eradicate Russian culture and the Russian world as such, all sorts of figures like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell and others declare that they must be with Ukraine ‘to the end’ because it is defending ‘European values.’ We do not need them at all."
"This injustice, the West's focus on holding on to its elusive dominance by any means necessary, while turning a blind eye to the most blatant crimes of the Kiev regime, is becoming increasingly clear," the minister said. "The sympathy of the global majority is on the side of justice and international law."
Crucial time
Lavrov told the graduates that they are joining diplomatic service at a crucial time.
"I have no doubt that you have closely familiarized yourself with President Vladimir Putin's speech at the meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. I would say that it was a preliminary summary of progress in accomplishing the goals that Russia had been working to achieve for the last 2-3 years," the minister said. "The president spoke at the Russian Foreign Ministry on June 14 of this year and set a task of developing approaches toward the establishment of a Eurasian security architecture that will not be closed to anyone, will not be directed against anyone, but which should belong to the countries of Eurasia.".