Lavrov: Europe makes mistaken assumptions about Russia losing in Ukraine

MINSK, June 15. /TASS/. Europe draws incorrect conclusions in the current situation that Russia is allegedly 'losing', and therefore believes that it can issue ultimatums despite its misguided assessments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday.

"We discussed the role played by our Western colleagues, both the United States and Europe, in addressing issues that go far beyond the ongoing Ukrainian conflict and relate to shared security principles in Europe and globally," Lavrov said, commenting on his recent visit to Belarus and the meeting with President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We shared a common stance that, given the current situation, the Europeans are making mistaken assumptions about Russia allegedly losing and Ukraine winning, so they [the Europeans] can issue ultimatums in the expectation that Russia will accept them," Russia’s top diplomat continued.

"President [of the Russian Federation Vladimir] Putin has already delivered remarks in this regard during his recent speeches at various events," Lavrov noted.

"Of course, these calculations are completely groundless and illusory, which was confirmed during the visit of three ambassadors from Britain, France, and Germany to our ministry," the Russian foreign minister stressed.

Lavrov also pointed out that developments in the Ukrainian conflict were at the top of the agenda of his meeting with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

"We talked about international affairs. Of course, the situation around the Ukrainian crisis was in the spotlight, as it is usually the case during meetings of our leaders," Lavrov stated.

"The war, which the West launched against the Russian Federation using Ukrainian hands after the state coup, was initially hybrid and later escalated into an open conflict," the Russian foreign minister said, commenting on the results of his visit to Belarus.