Exclusive interview for ARGUMENTUM.al with the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Albania HE Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev.
Interviewed by: Marjana Doda
Eighteen months after the start of the War in Ukraine, or as Russia calls it “special military operation”, the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Albania, Mr. Mikhail Afanasiev speaks for the first time in an exclusive interview for Argumentum.al.
The current crisis in Ukraine did not arise in February 2022, but nine years ago, when an armed coup was carried out with the active support of the USA and the EU and radical nationalist forces came to power in Kiev, the Russian Ambassador points out at the start of the interview.
Ambassador Afanasiev speaks of “revenge” by Kiev against the residents of Donbas, where the residents demanded respect for their legitimate rights, including the right to speak in their native language.
“An inhumane social, economic and transport blockade was imposed against the residents of Donbas, bombings and daily rocket attacks began as a result of which 14,000 civilians lost their lives, including 130 children,” he said.
The leadership of Ukraine and their Western proxies deliberately deceived the international community, cynically violating the spirit and letter of the Minsk Agreements, which contained a realistic plan for solving the problems of Donbas. In addition, active preparations were made for a military intervention in the territory of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk with the subsequent elimination of the so-called “collaborators” as well as all supporters of friendship with Russia. It was impossible to ignore all this any longer.
Regarding the effort to find a diplomatic solution to this conflict, the Ambassador recalls the Russian proposals of 2021.
“In mid-December 2021, Russia prepared and sent to its Western partners proposals for the development of legal guarantees for security in Europe, which affected, among other things, the non-expansion of NATO in the East, the rejection of any military activity in Ukraine, the return of the alliance’s infrastructure in its 1997 configuration, when the Russia-NATO Basic Act was signed. However, these proposals were arrogantly ignored by the USA and NATO,” stresses Ambassador Mikhail Afanasiev.
What made Russia take the irreversible decision against Ukraine, according to the Russian ambassador, were Kiev’s claims, publicly expressed by Zelensky in early February 2022 at the Munich Security Conference, regarding the possession of nuclear weapons, which created real dangers for Russia and international security as a whole.
Regarding the Western sanctions and the isolation of Russia, the Ambassador says:
Most of the international community, that is, the countries in which more than half of all humanity on the globe lives, including such large and influential actors as South Africa, Algeria, Ethiopia, India, Iran, China, Pakistan, etc., refused to impose illegitimate anti-Russian sanctions.
He further emphasizes that in the conditions of the multipolar world, which is being formed despite these efforts, the development of cooperation with the countries of the CIS, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America is the main priority of Russia’s foreign policy at the current stage.
Asked about the western unification as a block against Russia, the ambassador goes back in history recalling the previous wars against Russia which have been unsuccessful.
“Like Hitler <…>, now the USA organized a coalition with NATO and EU countries and is conducting a proxy war against Russia through Ukraine. From history we know how the military campaigns of malicious initiators against our country ended.”
The Ambassador calls the rhetoric of the use of nuclear weapons a Western speculation, stressing that Moscow adheres to the doctrinal guidelines on the issue of nuclear weapons that are absolutely defensive. “Their use by Russia can happen exclusively only as a response to an aggression carried out with the use of weapons of mass destruction or conventional ones. This means in cases when the very existence of our state is threatened,” Mr. Afanasiev points out.
Regarding the position of the official Tirana on the side of Ukraine, it seems that Moscow understands the Euro-Atlantic position of Albania. “Although the political and economic ties between the two countries are currently significantly limited, Moscow is still open, especially on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2024 for any constructive contact with official Tirana, when and if it will be interested in it,” says the Russian Ambassador.
Asked about the Ukrainian offensive, as it has been seen in recent months that several drones have targeted Russia, although Ambassador Afanasiev condemns them as terrorist actions on the part of Kyiv, once again he says that despite massive Western aid, Russia is ready to repel any aggression.
And while we are talking about a possible peace also due to several initiatives for peace undertaken by different countries, we have always been and remain open to a diplomatic solution to the crisis, says the Ambassador.
The Russian Ambassador also shows in this interview, which are the elements that would bring peace to Ukraine.
Read the full interview at Argumentum.al
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