Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomes his North Korean counterpart Choe Son Hui in Moscow, Russia on November 1, 2024. Photo Credit: Russian Foreign Ministry
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned in an interview published in a Turkish daily on Friday (November 1, 2024), days before the US presidential election, that the United States and Russia are very close to engaging in “direct military conflict”.
“Under the current president (Joe Biden), who has taken the decline of Russophobia in America to its logical conclusion, our country is on the verge of direct military conflict,” he said. Hurriyet Daily, without explaining in detail.
Asked about next week’s US election pitting former Republican President Donald Trump against Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, Mr Lavrov said the outcome would make little difference to Russia.
He said, “We have no preferences. When the Trump administration was in power, it imposed the highest number of anti-Russian sanctions compared to any of its predecessors.”
“No matter who wins the election, we do not think the United States’ anti-Russian stance can change.”
Although Mr Trump has previously made clear his love for Russia’s Vladimir Putin, the two men are not close and have maintained a deliberately ambiguous relationship.
Last week, the Russian president said his relations with Washington would depend on what attitude he takes after the vote, as he “sincerely” responded to Mr Trump’s comments about his desire to end the Ukraine conflict. Was welcomed.
In September, Microsoft claimed that Russian operatives stepped up their disinformation campaign to discredit the Harris campaign through conspiracy-inspired videos, raising concerns over foreign influence operations targeting the vote.
published – November 01, 2024 10:51 PM IST