Russia sees NATO's plans to supply F-16s to Ukraine as signal in Nuclear sphere

Moscow considers the idea of a hypothetical convening of a peaceful international conference on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict with the participation of the two counties as a possible continuation of China's efforts to create conditions for resolving this crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Sputnik.

"As for the idea of convening an international peace conference in a timely manner, which would ensure the equal participation of Russia and Ukraine and the discussion of all available peace initiatives, we regard it as a continuation of Beijing's efforts to create conditions for resolving the Ukrainian crisis. We share the position that, first of all, it is necessary to eliminate its root causes, ensure the legitimate interests of all parties," Lavrov said.

Future agreements on the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict must be based on the principle of equal and indivisible security, the minister added.

Lavrov also noted that Russia believes the US has become an accomplice to Kiev's crimes, when it comes to Ukraine's missile strikes on Russian cities.

"In the US national security strategy, Russia is called an immediate threat. The US and NATO explicitly say that their goal is to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on our country. In this context, the fate of the civilian population of Russian cities is not of interest to the White House, which has become an accomplice to the crimes of the Kiev regime," Lavrov said.

The United States is actually exacerbating the conflict in the Middle East by publicly declaring its commitment to a just solution to the Palestinian problem, Russian Foreign Minister added.

"The Americans continue to publicly speak about their commitment to a just solution to the Palestinian problem. At the same time, in practice, they plentifully add oil to the flame of the armed confrontation," Lavrov stated.

The Russian Foreign Minister further indicated that Russia will consider the supply of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine a deliberate signal action by NATO in the nuclear sphere.

"F-16 fighter jets have long been the main means of delivery in the framework of the so-called NATO joint nuclear missions. Therefore, we cannot but consider the supply of these systems to the Kiev regime as a deliberate signal action by NATO in the nuclear sphere. They are trying to make it clear to us that the US and NATO are ready for literally anything in Ukraine," Lavrov said.

At the same time, the supply of F-16 fighters would not change the situation on the line of contact in any way, the minister added.

"These jets will be destroyed, as well as other types of weapons supplied by NATO countries to Ukraine," Lavrov said.

He also stated that the drills on the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons of Russian and Belarus should talk sense into western opponents about the consequences of escalation.

"We hope that the Russian-Belarusian drills held these days to practice the use of non-strategic nuclear weapons will bring our opponents to reason, reminding them of the catastrophic consequences of further progress of nuclear escalation," Lavrov said.

On Monday, the Belarusian Defense Ministry said that Belarusian and Russian air forces are conducting joint tactical flight drills on May 27-31.

Russia, China stress need to increase bilateral, multilateral defense cooperation

Russia and China agree on the importance of increasing defense cooperation, not only on a bilateral basis but also in multilateral formats, Sergey Lavrov said.

"We share the opinion on the importance of increasing defense cooperation not only on a bilateral basis but also within the framework of multilateral formats. This understanding is set out in a joint statement signed following the visit of Russian President [Vladimir] Putin to China. Specifically, we are talking about expanding the scale of joint drills and combat training, conducting sea and air patrols, and developing the potential for joint response," Lavrov said.

The cooperation between Beijing and Moscow is not aimed against any third country, the minister said.

"Military cooperation with China is based on a high level of mutual trust. Russian-Chinese cooperation is aimed at strengthening international security and is carried out in accordance with the norms of international law. The combination of our efforts is not aimed against third countries. We and our Chinese friends are forced to take into account the negative military and political trends in the Asia-Pacific region and take measures to mitigate their consequences," Lavrov said.