News
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s recent claims about the war in Ukraine were met with notable derision at the Raisina Dialogue international conference in New Delhi – in his view, the war was “started” against Russia using Ukraine, and that Russia wants to stop it. A video of the conference was published by The Washington Post.
“The war against us was launched using the Ukrainian people, and we are trying to stop it,” Lavrov said, to audible groans and laughter from the audience.
To loud applause, Lavrov stressed what he called a “double standard” in questions directed to him about the war, especially when contrasted with the United States’ own military interventions in past decades.
“Have you been interested in these years [in] what is going on in Iraq, what is going on in Afghanistan?” he asked his interviewer, pausing to a round of applause. “[You] believe that the United States has the right to declare a threat to its national interest, any place on earth, like they did in Yugoslavia, in Iraq, in Libya, in Syria … and you don’t ask them any questions?”
Raisina Dialogue's audience consists of academics, diplomats and top corporate executives from around the world, noted The Washington Post.