Sputnik
NATO's position rejecting a frozen conflict scenario in Ukraine means that the alliance would rather have the crisis resolved militarily, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
"If NATO through [Secretary General Jens] Stoltenberg once again declares that they are against what they call the freezing of the conflict in Ukraine, it means they want to fight. Well, let them fight, we are ready for it," Lavrov told reporters after a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization in Minsk.
The top Russian diplomat pointed to multiple statements by Western officials admitting that the Ukraine crisis would long have been over if it were not for the foreign arms supplies and intelligence support to Kiev.
These statements amount to admitting that Western countries are waging "hybrid, or even hot, war" against Russia, Lavrov added.
Western countries have supplied Ukraine with military aid since the start of hostilities in February 2022. The support evolved from lighter artillery munitions and training in 2022 to heavier weapons, including tanks, later that year and in 2023. An international coalition has been formed recently to provide Ukraine with US-made F-16s, the fighter jets of its choice, and training. Several countries, including the UK, have volunteered to host the training of Ukrainian pilots. Moscow has warned on multiple occasions that by continuing to pour weapons into the conflict, Western countries only escalate it and risk full NATO involvement.
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