Lavrov pointed to US hybrid warfare against Russian Federation in Carlson interview

Moscow would like to have normal relations with Washington, but the U.S. is waging a hybrid war against Russia in Ukraine. It is a mistake to think that Russia has no "red lines". Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this in an interview with American journalist Tucker Carlson, published on December 6, when asked whether Russia and the United States are at war.

"Officially, we are not at war. Some people call what is happening in Ukraine a hybrid war. I would call it that as well. Obviously, the Ukrainians couldn't do what they're doing with modern long-range weapons without the direct involvement of U.S. troops. It's dangerous. There is no doubt about it," the minister reported.

He then emphasized that Russia does not want to aggravate the situation, but the country's territories are being struck by US ATACMS operational-tactical missiles and other US weapons. In response, the Russian Federation sends signals, for example, through the medium-range missile system Oreshnik, the head of the diplomatic department said. He expressed hope that this signal was taken seriously.

Lavrov also added that the Russian side is aware that some officials in the Pentagon and other organizations, including NATO, in recent days have begun to say that the best defense is an attack. Thus, the diplomat recalled, Thomas Buchanan, a spokesman for the U.S. Defense Department's Strategic Command, said he admits the possibility of exchanging limited nuclear strikes.

"These kinds of threats are a cause for concern. If they follow the logic that some Westerners have been voicing lately, that, say, don't believe that Russia has 'red lines', yes they have declared them, but these 'red lines' are shifting again, then this is a very serious mistake," Lavrov concluded.

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Earlier on December 5, Lavrov, speaking at the OSCE Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM), said on December 5 that there is a possibility of the world's cold war moving into a hot phase. According to him, the U.S. and its allies have torn up all arms control agreements made in the 1980s.

Before that, on November 30, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that the danger of a nuclear exchange between the United States and Russia exists, but Moscow will do everything possible to avoid it. According to him, modeling of the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons has been carried out repeatedly and the current geopolitical situation is characterized as extremely complex and tense.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed on November 21 that Russia was making every effort to prevent a nuclear exchange with the United States. The Russian presidential spokesman expressed hope that other countries adhere to the same position and will not engage in provocative actions.