'500 year domination of the world' is ending: Putin's FM warns the West

NEW DELHI: Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West that its "500 year domination of the world" is coming to an end, UK based Express reported.

Lavrov said that the conflict has made Russia stronger, even though the West has tried to weaken Russia in Ukraine. He compared it to how Russia became stronger after defeating Adolf Hitler and Napoleon in the past.

Lavrov said the "hybrid war" in Ukraine is based on "cancel culture", adding it is up to the Ukrainians to recognise "how deep they are in the hole where the Americans put them".

On the prospect of diplomacy bringing about a ceasefire or peace, Lavrov said, "You'll have to call Zelensky because a year-and-a-half ago he signed a decree prohibiting any negotiations with Putin."

These comments come after Lavrov delivered a message to Western leaders earlier this month, declaring at an international security conference that Moscow was not prepared to review its goals in Ukraine.

Lavrov, speaking at an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference, said, "We aren’t seeing any signals from Kyiv or its masters about their readiness to seek any kind of political settlement."

During the meeting, some participants accused Moscow of undermining the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) with its involvement in the war in Ukraine.

Ambassador Katrina Kaktina, Latvia’s OSCE representative, said in response, "It is Russia that is waging an unprovoked and unlawful war against Ukraine, and it is Russia that is obstructing the OSCE agenda."

"Russia is continuing violations of human rights: deliberate killings of civilians, including children, forced deportations, tactics of torture and sexual violence. Those are war crimes being committed by Russia in Ukraine," she added according to the report.