FROM EIR DAILY ALERT
U.S. Elite Must Give Up Geopolitical Delusions on Russia, Urges Lavrov
Dec. 24, 2018 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik today in an exclusive interview, that for the sake of humanity, it is time that “decades” of “selective interaction” between the United States and Russia be replaced by “a normal, predictable dialogue ... based on the principles of mutual understanding and respect for interests.”
“The potential for constructive bilateral interaction is enormous,” but that has been blocked for “many decades,” he emphasized. The difficulties are not merely related to electoral cycles where candidates may play the “Russia card.”
“If we speak in a broader, if you like, in a philosophical sense, the main problem in our relations is that the United States has never considered them as valuable. Russia for the American political establishment is an object,”
he said.
“We are demonized in order to keep Europe in check and to strengthen the trans-Atlantic bond. Or, for example, they are now seriously discussing how to use Russia against China in their favor. Yes, and attempts to inspire a change of power in our country or a change in Russian policy—and many in Washington suffer from such an illusion—are dictated by the desire to make us a tool to serve U.S. interests.”
But while that has worked with some other countries, but it will never work with Russia, he said.
“Until the ‘objectification’ of Russia, which apparently is a legacy of the Cold War, disappears from the consciousness of the American elite and this practice stops, the relationship will not change. ‘Selective interaction’ is flawed. It does not ensure the consolidation of positive trends and a predictable future.”
Lavrov reiterated once again the stakes that are involved:
“An armed conflict involving the two leading nuclear powers, Russia and the United States, will have disastrous consequences for humanity. There is no doubt that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, and it should never be unleashed.”
But the obsession with geopolitical ambitions by Washington and its allies has led to exacerbated confrontational pressure and frozen channels of dialogue, such that “a situation may well arise when the price of an error or misunderstanding becomes fatal.”
