“FALSE FANTASY WORLD DISTORTIONS”
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called out Lavrov as he made to leave when she began her speech and condemned Russia’s “unprovoked war of aggression” against Ukraine.
“No amount of false fantasy world distortions, misinformation and propaganda from the Russian representative about the causes of the war will convince anyone,” she said.
Russian forces occupy around 20 per cent of Ukraine and the fighting rages in the east of the country more than three-and-a-half years since the full-scale invasion.
Europe’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called on world powers to exert international pressure on the Kremlin.
“There are no signs that Russia’s goal of subjugating Ukraine has changed,” she said.
Ukraine and Europe publicly welcomed Trump’s rhetorical U-turn on the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, in which he mocked the Russian military’s slow progress, saying he believed Kyiv could turn the tables on Russia and retake its occupied land.
But some European diplomats have cautioned Trump’s statements may indicate he is moving to leave Europe to carry the burden of supporting Ukraine.
Despite concerted lobbying by Europe and Ukraine, Trump has not imposed heavy new sanctions on Russia. Instead, he has imposed tariffs on products from India for buying Russian oil and discussed the possibility of similar action against China.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump’s tone remained largely unchanged on Russia. He voiced disappointment with President Vladimir Putin’s actions and said Moscow was doing poorly in the war in Ukraine.
Lavrov held talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday. He is due to address the UN General Assembly on Saturday.
