Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Ukraine is essentially being prevented by the US and the UK from making any constructive moves amid the ongoing crisis.
"The fact that they [Ukraine] are being literally prevented from making any constructive moves, that they are literally being pumped with weapons and are forced to use these weapons in increasingly risky ways, the fact that foreign instructors and specialists who service these weapon systems - such as HIMARS - are deployed there, it is no longer a secret," Lavrov said during an interview with Sputnik and RT.
He suggested that by arming Ukraine, the West seeks to pit European countries against Russia and turn the current conflict in Ukraine into a "real war."
This strategy, Lavrov explained, is advantageous for the United States, as all the fighting is being done far away from US shores.
The top diplomat also said he believes the Ukraine will not be allowed to engage in negotiations until the US decides that "enough chaos has been sown."
The geographical area of the Russian military operation in Ukraine has changed since the talks in Istanbul, in light of the supply of weapons systems such as the US-made HIMARS to Kiev, Lavrov observed.
"Now the geography is different. It is far from being only the DPR and LPR [Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics], it is also the Kherson region, the Zaporozhye region and a number of other territories, and this process continues, and continues consistently and persistently," he said.
Russia, Lavrov explained, simply cannot tolerate the presence of weapons that might pose a threat to its territory and to the territory of "those republics that have declared their independence, those who want to define their future themselves," in the part of Ukraine controlled by Zelensky or whoever may replace him.
Regarding the prospects of Europe attempting to change its course and mend relations with Russia in the future, Lavrov remarked that Moscow would not spurn such efforts, but would react only after assessing how Russia may benefit from them.
He also pointed out that Western countries are trying to drag UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres into their games around Ukrainian grain.
"We have been explaining for many months that the fertilizer itself is not subject to sanctions, but freight, insurance, arrival of our ships that carry these goods to foreign ports ... all this fell immediately under the first or second package [of sanctions] ... therefore, when they lie to our eyes and say that all this is not true and everything depends on you, this is unscrupulous. Unfortunately, they tried and are still trying to drag the UN secretary-general into their games," Lavrov said.
"As for the next announced package of sanctions, what is it - sanctions or even the lifting of sanctions? Both, because they [the EU] have already exhausted all possible areas where they were ready to harm us and are now forced to think about what they have done and how it affects them," Lavrov said.
Speaking about the prospects of peace talks with Kiev, Lavrov said that holding such negotiations would be pointless at this time.
Addressing the speculation about a possible nuclear war between Russia and the West, the foreign minister made Moscow's position clear, stressing that there could be no winner in such a war.
On 24 February, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine following requests for assistance from Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Moscow stated that the goal of this operation is to demilitarize and de-Nazify Ukraine, and that only the country's military infrastructure is being targeted.