❗️ Lavrov on the situation regarding elections in Ukraine: the West is looking for external signals that will enable it to support the Kiev regime and make it more accommodating

❗️ There is no hope that Russia will be somehow defeated - Lavrov

❗️ Kiev was forbidden from signing a settlement agreement with Russia "upon the orders of Johnson and other Anglo-Saxons." - Sergey Lavrov

❗️ Lavrov: the policy of neocolonialism is maintained by the US and its allies. The general idea is to use other countries to your advantage and live off them.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ “Of course, the US, together with the British and some other allies, simply trampled on all conceivable norms of international law. No one authorized them to bomb Yemen. Just as no one authorized NATO to bomb Libya in 2011,” Lavrov said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ The exculpatory statements emanating from Washington seem quite pitiful, Sergey Lavrov said.

Speaking in Davos, Blinken stated that all countries in the Middle East desire a US presence in the region. It is difficult for me to ascertain the extent of their desire. However, Iraq has been anticipating the departure of American troops for many years. The recent remarks from Baghdad regarding the Americans' reluctance to leave, despite being persuaded to do so for a considerable period, show that this is sad, the minister said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Sergey Lavrov on the situation in Gaza:

▪️ In order to resolve the situation between Israel and Palestine, only direct dialogue is needed;

▪️ Semi-closed contacts involving the United States, Israel, and Arab states on Palestine will not be successful;

▪️ The main endeavor should be the creation of a Palestinian state in full accordance with the UN Charter and resolutions;

▪️ Russia will provide proposals on a collective settlement of Middle East conflicts at the UNSC’s meeting next week;

▪️ Recurrences of violence in Gaza will continue without the creation of a Palestinian state

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Russia was one of the first countries to take action in defending its national interests as a great power and prevent any infringements upon them.

The US unleashed a total hybrid war to strangle us politically and economically and defeat Russia on the battlefield, Lavrov said

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ The West is increasingly chattering about a potential clash between nuclear powers, as deterrents are gradually evaporating, Lavrov said

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Russia’s precision strikes ‘raise risks’ & ‘dampen enthusiasm’ of Ukraine’s mercs

Russia’s precision strikes on facilities housing foreign mercenaries in Ukraine will ‘dampen the enthusiasm’ of such guns for hire, retired US Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Kwiatkowski told Sputnik.

Strikes like the one Russia carried out on Kharkov ‘raise the risk level for these soldiers and others, who are in Ukraine largely for the money,’ noted the former analyst for the US Department of Defense.

Reflecting on what kind of people would be prepared to freelance for the Ukrainian military, the pundit remarked:

‘There are people, including Americans, who have been psychologically ruined for normal work and life as a result of 30 plus years of US intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, even the Former Yugoslavia, and a variety of other places. Some are no doubt sociopaths who enjoy shooting people, but others seek to feel like a part of something that is real, and fighting gives this to them.’

Kwiatkowski added that most who are working for the Ukrainians directly are probably marginals more than professionals. However, as Ukraine is plagued by recruitment woes at home coupled with poor political and military leadership, ‘any mercenary, without particular loyalty to Ukraine and with some experience in battle, would by himself or with his compatriots, quickly assess the risk/reward equation, and choose an appropriate course of action,’ said Karen Kwiatkowski.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

Washington has abandoned all the principles on which our mutual relations were built - Lavrov

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

The West hopes to use voting as leverage to push Zelensky to act more forcefully in favor of Western interests, as the situation is becoming increasingly unmanageable, Sergey Lavrov said.

“The President of Ukraine is clinging to power as much as possible,” said the Russian Foreign Minister.

The West will compel Kiev to become more accommodating, Lavrov believes.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺🇨🇳 Approximately 90% of mutual settlements for servicing trade turnover between Russia and China are conducted in national currencies, Lavrov said.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

⚡️ Jordan has launched an airstrike on the province of As-Suwayda in southern Syria, killing 11 people, including women and children, a source told Sputnik

Lavrov on the document signed between Zelensky and Sunak: I didn’t see any binding provisions there. Apart from Ukraine's obligations to defend the British Isles, should they be attacked. This is, of course, humorous, a resumption of the Kvartal 95 Studio.

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ We actively recommend that the Taliban invite not only Pashtuns, but also other parties into the power structures, said Sergey Lavrov

❗️ We need to end the aggression in Yemen now. The more the Americans and British bomb that country, the less the Houthis are going to seek to engage in any dialogue, Lavrov said.

They’re adults, but they are playing a game of ‘who’s the boss’ - Lavrov on the collective West

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

If we are talking about our close-knit circle, then, of course, these are the nations of the Middle East: Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar - Lavrov

Subscribe to @SputnikInt

❗️ Among the foreign mercenaries who were eliminated in the Russian strike on Kharkov were the handlers of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC)*, said Sergey Lebedev, the coordinator of the Nikolaev underground, when speaking to Sputnik.

RVC is part of the nationalist sabotage unit, Kraken**, formed by the leaders of the Azov** regiment and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.

*RVC is listed as a terrorist organization prohibited on the territory of the Russian Federation.

**Terrorist organizations banned in Russia

Subscribe to @SputnikInt