The United States and Russia remain on opposing sides regarding the Ukraine war. The U.S. has been providing Ukraine with extensive support, including fighter jets and tanks. This ongoing rivalry resurfaced when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov engaged in a verbal clash with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
According to a report by Al Jazeera on Thursday (December 5), Lavrov accused Western countries of escalating the risk of conflict in the Ukraine war during the annual meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Malta, where he indirectly clashed with Blinken.
At the ministerial-level OSCE meeting, Lavrov alleged that the West is reviving the Cold War and provoking direct confrontation with Russia. He claimed that the U.S. is using NATO for political purposes, asserting that, after its dishonorable exit from Afghanistan, the U.S. needed a new adversary, with Ukraine becoming its first target following Russia’s aggression in 2022.
Lavrov remarked that this has led to the revival of the Cold War, with significant risks of escalating into a hot phase. Before Blinken or others could respond, Lavrov walked out of the session.
While Lavrov accused the West, Blinken countered by holding Russia responsible for the conflict in the region. He pointed to Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops in Europe, attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, lowering the threshold for using nuclear weapons, and deploying medium-range ballistic missiles to target Ukraine.
Blinken stated that although Lavrov spoke about the sovereign rights of member states to make their own choices, Ukraine’s sovereignty and future must be determined by its own people, not dictated by Moscow.
The OSCE, originally formed during the Cold War and comprising 57 nations, has been significantly weakened since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.