Lead
A senior Russian diplomat said European countries are openly discussing preparations for an armed conflict with Russia, as part of broader remarks on global security delivered at a Moscow conference. Mikael Agasandyan, director of the First Department for CIS Countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry, also accused the United States of remaining the main source of tension in the world and of acting without regard for international law.
Coverage Comparison
Agasandyan's remarks were reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, which carried several of his statements from the international scientific and practical conference "Contours of a New Architecture of Collective Security: Current Issues of Information and Analytical Partnership within the Collective Security Treaty Organization." The reports, all attributed through TASS, highlight different aspects of the diplomat's address, including his comments on European militarization, US-European relations, and the role of the US in global conflicts.
Key Claims
Agasandyan said that European countries, having "taken the course of accelerating militarization," are already "discussing openly arrangements for another armed confrontation with Russia." He also asserted that Western countries are trying to increase their economic, humanitarian, and military presence in countries adjacent to Russia, effectively seeking to "cordon off Russia in sanitary terms."
In a separate set of remarks, he described Washington's relations with Brussels and London as having "lost their previously predictable, trust-based nature." He added that both the US and European countries face significant socio-economic challenges, and that tensions are intensifying within the Western camp between "the so-called Trumpists and globalist elites."
Addressing broader global tensions, Agasandyan said the US "remains the main source of tension in the world," still claiming total domination. He argued that despite the current US administration having "abandoned attempts to reshape the world according to its own patterns," it has not given up its claims to domination. The US, he said, acts "in the spirit of colonial empires, relying on forceful methods, control over resources and trade routes," and without regard for international law and multilateral institutions.
He further noted that the "conflict zone is expanding to more and more countries and regions," and pointed to the "unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against Iran" as a recent example, saying that the conflict there is "far from being over" and that a new balance in the region has not been found. He also warned that some experts are already talking about a new world war of a hybrid nature, which, in the context of Ukraine and the Middle East, has already resulted in active conflicts.