The West criticizes him.. Lavrov warns against the Cold War turning into direct confrontations

Western diplomats on Thursday criticized statements made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Malta.
Lavrov said that the West had ignited the war in Ukraine, and that it was responsible for starting a new cold war that could turn into a direct confrontation, warning that the matter could turn into a hot phase.

A tsunami of misinformation

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Lavrov’s statements as a “tsunami of disinformation.”
In his speech, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sepha described Lavrov as a “war criminal at this table” without mentioning him by name. “Our peace plan is that Russia should leave Ukraine and leave us alone,” Ssibha said.
He described Russia as the biggest threat to global security, not only because of its attack on Ukraine, but also because of its military cooperation with Iran and North Korea.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Lavrov of spreading “intolerable lies” about the war in Ukraine.

A rare phone call

The Russian and American Chiefs of Staff held a rare phone call last week in light of the escalation in Ukraine, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.

Direct communications between Moscow and Washington have almost stopped in light of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, and the Kremlin has previously indicated that it considers the United States a direct party to the conflict.

The call took place between Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown on November 27 at an “initiative from the Russian side,” according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The Russian and American media reported that the contact was the first between the two parties.

Prevent any possible accidents

Gerasimov informed his American counterpart about Russian military maneuvers in the eastern Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Telegram.
The ministry said: “We provided this information with the aim of preventing any possible incidents related to the presence of American and NATO ships near the Russian maneuvers area.”

The New York Times quoted an American military spokesman as saying that the Chiefs of Staff discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the new Russian hypersonic ballistic missile, “Oreshnik.”

CNN reported that Brown expressed US concern about the deployment of North Korean soldiers in support of the Russian army.

Tensions escalate

Tensions between Russia and the United States have escalated since Donald Trump won the presidential election in November.
The administration of US President Joe Biden gave Kiev the green light to launch American-made “Atakum” missiles towards Russian territory, while Moscow modified its nuclear doctrine in a way that allows it to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not possess them.
In response to Kiev hitting Russian border areas with Western weapons, Russia said it tested a new missile with nuclear capabilities through a strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.