If Europe attacks Russia, war will be 'completely different, very short': Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that if Europe attacks Russia, the resulting war would be “completely different” and “very short.”

Speaking at the International Youth Festival in the city of Yekaterinburg, Lavrov said Russian officials had repeatedly stated that Moscow had no intention of attacking Europe and “no interest in doing so.”

“Russia has repeatedly said that we are not going to attack Western countries and have no interest in doing so. But if Europe, which speaks regularly about preparing for war against Russia, attacks the Russian Federation, then this will be a completely different war, and it will be very short,” he stressed.

Lavrov noted that confrontation was not Russia’s method, a position that had been repeatedly stated by the Russian leadership, including President Vladimir Putin personally.

“The West made a choice long ago in favor of containing Russia,” he said, citing what he described as NATO’s “forceful” expansion toward Russia’s borders.

The minister also criticized statements by European leaders about the need to prepare for a war with Russia, saying the issue had become a major theme among current European political leaders in Brussels.

Lavrov also warned that the deployment of Western military contingents in Ukraine would amount to a declaration of war on Russia.

He said Moscow was ready for talks on a settlement of the Ukraine conflict and would wait for proposals on their resumption, while adding that Russia was not very hopeful about the prospects for progress.

Asked about the place of negotiations, he said any venue for negotiations could be considered, including Serbia, provided it was acceptable to all participants.

Lavrov also said Russia was checking information about the possible deployment of US weapons in space.

Regarding Russia-US ties under the Donald Trump administration, he said dialogue had not so far led to tangible changes in significant areas of bilateral relations.

Turning to the parliamentary election in Russia scheduled for Sept. 18-20, Lavrov said Russia was seeing particularly strong attempts by the West to interfere in the expression of Russian voters’ will during the current election campaign.

Addressing the future of Russia-Europe relations, he said Moscow would not return to close relations with Europe as they were after the collapse of the Soviet Union and would not enter into agreements with European countries in areas affecting Russia’s security.