Washington is 'Playing With Fire'

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warns the U.S. to accept his country's proposal to end the war in Ukraine or face "dangerous consequences"

- TOM O'CONNOR

THE UNITED STATES WILL FACE "DANGEROUS consequences" if it presses on with increasing military aid to Ukraine rather than backing a proposed Russian settlement that would see Moscow take over swathes of territory, the man serving as Russian President Vladimir Putin's top diplomat for 20 years said in exclusive responses to Newsweek questions.

Well over two-and-a-half years after Putin ordered a "special military operation" against Ukraine in what has become the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Kremlin offers a viable blueprint to end the bloodshed and revamp the security architecture of the continent. He accused the U.S.-led NATO military alliance of first sowing the seeds of war a decade ago and continuing to fan the flames.

"Russia is open to a politico-diplomatic settlement that should remove the root causes of the crisis," he said. "It should aim to end the conflict rather than achieve a ceasefire."

Russia's plan would mean Ukraine ceding the substantially Russian-held provinces of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia, which were formally annexed by Moscow following an internationally disputed referendum in September 2022, as well as Crimea, seized by Russia and annexed through a similar vote in 2014.

Kyiv must also agree to abandon its quest to become a NATO member and take other steps rejected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his international supporters, including the U.S. Kyiv and its foreign backers instead demand an unconditional Russian withdrawal, while Moscow has said an escalating conflict brings NATO closer to a direct clash with Russia, which possesses the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons.

"At present, as far as we can see, restoring peace is not part of our adversary's plan. Zelensky has not revoked his decree banning negotiations with Moscow," Lavrov said.