MOSCOW, June 24. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has emphasized that comparing Israeli actions against Iran with the Ukrainian conflict is both inaccurate and unjust. Speaking at the 11th Primakov Readings, an international forum dedicated to global security and diplomatic strategies, Lavrov clarified that the origins of the Middle East tensions differ significantly from those of Ukraine.
He pointed out that the conflict in the Middle East was primarily triggered by Israel's suspicions regarding Iran’s potential violations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. However, these suspicions were not confirmed by inspections conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In contrast, Ukraine has seriously breached its commitments by moving NATO closer to Russian borders, creating real threats to Russia’s security.
Lavrov stressed, "The threats to our military security and the legislative suppression of everything Russian are the root causes. We could not allow these issues to persist. We are actively preventing them. Therefore, equating these conflicts is simply unfair."
He further criticized Ukraine’s failure to honor the Minsk agreements, highlighting ongoing escalation in Donbass and efforts to seize these territories by force, with plans to establish NATO bases in Crimea. "Everyone knows that the British planned to establish a base on the Sea of Azov," Lavrov stated. "However, there has been no evidence of Iran undertaking hostile actions against Israel."
