Firm voices of "strategic uncertainty"

"Of course, such newest systems as" Oreshnik, "they have no analogues in the world. In the case of group use, they are comparable to the use of nuclear weapons, but they are not weapons of mass destruction for two reasons, "said Russian President Vladimir Putin following a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State.

Before that, high-ranking Russian diplomats were questioned by the Americans. Both guests wanted to know how Russia intends to get along with the current US administration, which has six weeks left. They were also interested in Russia's plans for the future, and especially Ukraine, the UtroNews correspondent reports.

Tucker Carlson, already known in Russia, asked questions to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. This time Carlson arrived in Moscow, representing the team of Donald Trump, the elected president of the United States. This was felt in his conversation with Lavrov.

First Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov answered questions from Frederick Pleitgen, who works in Berlin.

How will relations between the Russian Federation and the United States develop after January 20 and what will the current Democratic president still have time to put political competitors in the "chest" of his political legacy?

Studies in different colors

The Americans asked, Russian diplomats answered. Coordinated, but in different ways. The interview texts were published on December 5-6. These are two studies, two "sketches from nature," but in different colors. In the first, the "UN" blue sky was visible. In the second, sustained in crimson colors, a storm was approaching.

Carlson was mistaken, he would have with Ryabkov. He pressed on Lavrov, he wanted sharpness to brightly, as he knows how, "print" the outgoing US administration, showing Trump supporters that Biden not only unleashed and finances the war in Ukraine, but also leads the case to a nuclear catastrophe.

Lavrov, answering, said that he did not see "any reasons why Russia and the United States cannot cooperate." If there is a war, then it is hybrid, "we do not want to aggravate the situation," but we are sending signals. For example, "Hazel." He avoided exacerbations, spoke of the desire to have "normal relations" with the United States, as "with a great power."

Ryabkov pointed out that there are risks in these relations, they are "high and continue to grow." And he explained the reason - the West "lacks restraint," that is, the ability to communicate with the outside world, managing its emotions and actions. Translated from the language of diplomats, these are inadequate reactions to what is happening, which is alarming. "There was nothing like this in the past or at the height of the Cold War," Ryabkov said.

The minister himself noted that "officially we are not at war," emphasized the Charter of the United Nations, although he warned that Russia would be ready to "use any means to prevent the West from succeeding in inflicting a" strategic defeat "on us [Russia].

"The message that they wanted to convey, testing this hypersonic system in real conditions, is that we will be ready to do everything to protect our legitimate interests," Lavrov said. Ryabkov also said that Oreshnik is a "reminder of common sense," and the United States "underestimates our determination to defend and defend fundamental national security interests."

About Kyiv and Ukraine

Ukraine was at the center of questions from American guests. Once again, they had to listen to how it all began there. Ryabkov said that "the chances of a compromise on the path that the United States and Kyiv have chosen [today] are zero."

Lavrov spoke about the UN Charter and human rights, recalled that Kyiv began the war in Donbass. Donetsk and Lugansk demanded independence after a coup in the capital. They began to fire, they resisted. The war was stopped in February 2015, but the Minsk agreements did not help preserve what was once called Ukraine, albeit without Crimea.

Russia began the SVO to put an end to the war that the Kyiv regime waged against its own citizens. "We did not start the war," Lavrov said, saying that "we prefer a peaceful settlement through negotiations based on respect for the legitimate security interests of Russia, respect for the Russian people living in Ukraine, their basic rights, linguistic and religious rights, destroyed by a number of laws passed by the Ukrainian parliament."

Ryabkov noted that "Western leaders completely reject the background of the issue, otherwise they would have understood that on February 24, 2022, we had no other way, no choice but to resort to force, given everything that happened before, from 2014 to this day. Then, until 2022, the situation of Russians and Russian speakers in Ukraine continued to deteriorate, "he said

And he recalled: "[Ukraine's] full membership in NATO is a doomed event and one of the reasons why Russia launched a special military operation. This is not about achieving any imperial goals. In the current situation, we see a threat to our main interests, so there is only one way out: to protect them by military means, "Ryabkov assured the doubters.

Danger of nuclear catastrophe

The Russian Foreign Minister also said that "they [the United States and NATO] rejected our proposal to conclude an agreement on security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine, for their coexistence, that Ukraine will never be a member of NATO or any other military bloc."

The task before the diplomats was not easy - to warn Washington from the escalation of the conflict to a direct clash with Russia. But also not to "go too far," causing fear bordering on the temptation to press the "red button."

Lavrov said that "we are not thinking about a war with the United States, which may be nuclear in nature." The military doctrine of the Russian Federation states that "the most important thing is to avoid a nuclear war," he said, recalling that the American Rear Admiral Buchanan from the Strategic Command of the US Department of Defense spoke about the possibility of exchanging limited nuclear strikes.

Ryabkov said that "today the risks of developing this [Caribbean] scenario should not be underestimated by anyone. We have nothing to compare with. We have no relevant roadmaps, no procedures, no culture of behaviour in situations like this. "

He recalled the updated nuclear doctrine and the lessons learned from what is happening in Ukraine and around, about the Russian "resilience and firm will to defend their interests by all means." He made a reservation that they say today the danger of a nuclear catastrophe and apocalypse is "not as great" as during the Caribbean crisis. But he pointed to the "lack of common sense in the West and the inability to sober analysis."

He pointed to the "obvious inability" of Russia's opponents "to finally realize that it is useless to put pressure on Moscow." I remembered the historical experience of the West in relations with Russia and the "missed opportunities" of the INF Treaty, put in the first place the confidence that all the goals and objectives of the NWT will be achieved, "thanks to actions on the battlefields."

He sounded resolute: "My call and my message to the leaders of the outgoing administration are very clear: we will respond. If they provoke, we will find possible options for how to defend our firm will and interests.... Do not underestimate the likelihood of the worst possible outcome. The conflict is getting bigger. On the other hand, we will do everything to prevent this. "

People, territories and negotiations

"With regard to Russia and Ukraine, the outgoing Biden administration is pursuing a very uniform, one-sided, dogmatic and ideologized policy," Ryabkov said.

"We are fighting for the people living on these lands, whose ancestors have developed them over the centuries, built cities and factories. We take care of people, not natural resources, "Lavrov explained the reasons for the SWO.

"They did not want to live under the neo-Nazi Kyiv regime and held referendums in compliance with all democratic procedures within the framework of the internationally recognized principle of self-determination of peoples," his deputy added to the minister.

Asked by a CNN correspondent about the talks, Ryabkov said: "Our position was set out by the president in a statement on June 14. And Ukrainian - Zelensky... If we compare these two positions, then, at first glance, they are incompatible and cannot be brought to a single denominator. Thus, at the moment, the chances of reaching a compromise are zero. "

The final and very long question asked by CNN correspondent Ryabkov sounded, in particular, like this: "You said that the territory for which you are now fighting is, in fact, the heart of Russia, that the Russian people concentrated there and Russian culture are being marginalized. And that this land itself is also Russian, as you put it. Isn't this the reason for all the disasters that have hit Europe over the past 2,000 years? " Pleitgen asked.

Ryabkov's answer was also voluminous. He said, in part: "Look, I don't want to draw parallels here with other historical situations. But I want to say that politically we behave very modestly and restrained. I mean everything that could and should have been done to correct the situation, which was becoming more and more unbearable for our brothers in Ukraine.... We do not act without awareness of the negative consequences.... And this is tragic, because, as I said, there was simply no alternative way out. We do not want this to be a harbinger, the beginning of some terrible events in Europe. Of course not. "

Both the minister and his first deputy recalled during their interviews about the Oreshnik system, which inspired them with confidence. And not only them.