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| Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov |
Moscow - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow's overarching goal was to overthrow the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The remarks came as a barrage of Russian artillery and air strikes continued to hit cities across Ukraine.
Lavrov's remarks come amid Ukraine's efforts to resume grain exports from Black Sea ports, which would help alleviate global food shortages.
Quoted from Arab News, Lavrov said Moscow was determined to help Ukraine "free itself from this absolutely unacceptable regime burden." Lavrov accused Kiev and its “Western allies” of spreading propaganda meant to ensure Ukraine “becomes an eternal enemy of Russia.” “The Russian and Ukrainian people will continue to live together, we will definitely help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is completely anti-people and anti-historical.
Lavrov's remarks stood in stark contrast to Kremlin lines early in the war, when Russian officials repeatedly stressed they were not seeking to overthrow the Zelensky government. Lavrov thinks Russia is ready to negotiate a deal to end hostilities in March when Kiev changes tactics and declares its intention to defeat Russia on the battlefield.
He added that the West had pushed Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia. "The West insists that Ukraine should not start negotiations until Russia is defeated on the battlefield," Lavrov said.
Read Also: Russia and Ukraine Reach Agreement on Ukrainian Grain Exports
It was not immediately clear when grain shipments would resume after Russia and Ukraine signed the same agreement with the United Nations and Turkey on Friday in Istanbul. The deal aims to pave the way for shipments of millions of tonnes of much-needed Ukrainian grain, as well as exports of Russian grain and fertilizer.
Russia insisted Monday that the attack on the port of Odesa over the weekend targeted military assets and would not affect grain shipments. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the attack should be carried out "exclusively on military infrastructure." “This has absolutely nothing to do with the infrastructure involved in fulfilling the agreement and exporting wheat. So this cannot and should not affect the start of the delivery process in any way," Peskov said.
The Russian spokesman also said Moscow was not interested in stopping all gas supplies to Europe and the recent restrictions on the flow of Russian gas to European countries "are just a consequence of the restrictions that Europe has imposed, and Europeans themselves are suffering from these restrictions." "Russia is a responsible gas supplier, and whatever people say, the European Commission, in European capitals, in the US, Russia has been and continues to be the country that largely guarantees Europe's energy security," Peskov said.