An audience of academics, diplomats and businessmen laughed hysterically when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov made an unexpected statement about the war on Ukraine.
Lavrov surprised the hall during his attendance at one of the “Resina” dialogue sessions in India, when he said that Russia is trying to stop the war waged by the Ukrainians against it, as he was unable to complete his sentence when the audience laughed, and it seemed as if he was trying to collect his thoughts to face the situation.
On the other hand, Lavrov stressed what he called “double standards” in the questions addressed to him about the war, and believed that it did not do justice to his country, comparing the position of the questioners regarding his country’s invasion of Ukraine to the military interventions of the United States in the past decades, according to the newspaper “Washington Post“.
Lavrov said, directing his speech to his interlocutor, “Were you interested in what is happening in Iraq, and what happened in Afghanistan?” Before stopping before the audience applauded this sentence.
Then he continued, “You think the United States has the right to declare a threat to its national interests, anywhere on earth, as they did in Yugoslavia, in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria…so you don’t ask them any questions?”
However, his assertion afterwards that Moscow was the victim, not the aggressor, in the current conflict in Ukraine prompted laughter in the audience.
“The war was waged against us using the Ukrainian people,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov made the remarks during the Resina Dialogue, one of a dwindling number of major international conferences still inviting Russian officials in the aftermath of the February 24, 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
These sessions are hosted by the Observer Research Foundation of India.
The public reaction represented the divided opinions in India and many other parts of the world about the war.
And Thursday, the meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Twenty, which represents the world’s largest economies, in New Delhi, failed to reach a common agreement due to the opposition of China and Russia over the wording on the Ukrainian war.
Lavrov recently traveled to several countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East to drum up support for Russia’s view of the conflict.
India is trying to stay in the middle, as it seeks to maintain its strong historical relationship with Russia, according to the newspaper.Washington Post“.
India has increased its imports of Russian oil to record levels and maintained its dependence on military supplies from the Kremlin.
India has consistently abstained from voting at the United Nations calling for an end to the Russian invasion.
Lavrov’s criticism of what he described as “Western hypocrisy and its selective focus on human rights fell on deaf ears in India,” according to the American newspaper, which also said that many citizens in India “also complain about their government’s double standards.”
In December, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, when asked why India did not condemn the Russian invasion, said: “I can give you many examples of countries that have violated the sovereignty of another country.” He then continued, “If you ask where Europe stands with regard to many of these, I fear I face deafening silence.”
In the Resina Dialogue, Lavrov made it clear that Russia will “no longer depend on some Western countries” and instead will shift its energy policy towards “reliable” partners “such as India and China.”
He said that the world is not affected by Russia’s actions, but rather by the West’s reactions towards Russia.
Lavrov told the interviewer, Sanjoy Joshi, head of the Observer think tank, that he should have “done his homework” before asking him questions about the Russian invasion.
“Being the president of such a distinguished audience,” he said with a chuckle, “I don’t understand why you don’t.”
Lavrov interrupted Joshi constantly, repeating “Wait a second, wait a second” as the audience laughed.
