Lavrov accuses Europe of waging war on Russia

European countries are waging a war against Russia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Tuesday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Valdai forum in Moscow, Lavrov said European countries are supplying weapons to Ukraine that are being used against Russia.

"This is a war that Europe is waging against us," Lavrov said, rejecting European accusations that Russia's strikes on cargo vessels carrying Western weapons to Ukraine amounted to a "hybrid covert war" by Moscow.

Russia's use of force in Ukraine, he said, was strictly self-defense to elimintate threats.

"If you mean the destruction of infrastructure that is being used by the Nazi regime, with Western support, to wage war against the Russian Federation, then we are using force to suppress this direct threat to us," he said.

US-RUSSIA TALKS

On plans for talks with the US, he said they will take place soon.

"We agreed with (US Secretary of State) Marco Rubio that this will happen. Experts should coordinate the specific dates and the specific place," he noted.

Lavrov cited the return of Russian diplomatic property seized by the US as one of the outstanding issues in Moscow-Washington relations.

According to him, Russia received no encouraging signals from the administration of US President Donald Trump regarding its return.

"There have never been any encouraging comments from the Americans, already under the administration of Donald Trump, on this issue," he said.

Lavrov acknowledged that the US is still seeking to advance its unilateral interests, but said Washington is nevertheless forced to engage with countries including Russia and China.

BERLIN SCARED OF 'MISSING THE TRAIN'

Commenting on Poland's plans to produce Patriot missiles and Europe's involvement in the Ukraine conflict, Lavrov urged European countries to study Russia's military doctrine.

Turning to his meeting with the German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Lavrov said Berlin may be seeking to become involved in efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict because it does not want to "miss the train."

"It is difficult for me to judge what Germany is seeking. I think one explanation that is obvious is simply the desire not to miss the train. They believe the train has already gained momentum — I don't know if that's true, it's hard for me to judge, if they mean the Ukrainian crisis," he said.

Asked about the agenda for his meeting with Wadephul, Lavrov said the German minister spoke about the "militarization of the European Union," continued calls for NATO to expand and admit Ukraine, and claims that "Russia is an eternal enemy" and that "in three years we will be at war."

"If such incantations are being voiced, and the goal, as Mr. Wadephul himself announced it, is simply to reproduce these incantations behind closed doors, without the press, so that Russia supposedly understands that this is all really the case — then this is a futile, and I would even say harmful, undertaking," he said.

Lavrov said it was "very sad" that some EU and NATO officials were effectively acting as "spokesmen" for what he described as the European position.