Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused European countries of waging a war against Russia through their military support for Ukraine.
Speaking at the Valdai Forum in Moscow, Lavrov said that the supply of weapons to Ukraine from European countries constitutes, in his opinion, part of a war against the Russian Federation.
"This is the war that Europe is waging against us," Lavrov declared.
The Russian foreign minister also rejected accusations that Russian attacks on ships carrying Western weapons to Ukraine constitute a "covert hybrid war."
Lavrov presented Russia's use of force in Ukraine as an act of self-defense, claiming that Moscow's objective is to eliminate threats to its security.
"If you are talking about the destruction of the infrastructure that, with the support of the West, the Nazi regime uses for war against the Russian Federation, then we are forcibly suppressing this direct threat," the Russian minister said.
Lavrov's statements come at a tense period in relations between Moscow and European countries, as Europe's military and political support for Ukraine remains one of the main issues of conflict with Russia.
Moscow has consistently justified its invasion of Ukraine on security grounds and the claim of eliminating threats to Russia. Ukraine and Western countries, meanwhile, consider the invasion a Russian aggression and demand the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukrainian territory.
