Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke on Thursday during the G20 Summit in India. He claimed that the war between Russia and Ukraine was "launched against us," causing the crowd watching him to laugh.
Following his remarks, one event attendee shouted, "Come on!" as the top Russian diplomat was answering a question regarding Moscow's energy strategy. Lavrov, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was one of the speakers at the summit and led a session that was part of a "Raisina Dialogue 2023" series.
Lavrov Receives Laughing Reactions
Shortly before the incredibly embarrassing moment, Lavrov was talking with the chair of the Observer Research Foundation in India, Sunjoy Joshi. Then, one audience member asked the Russian diplomat a question about how the conflict has affected Russia's energy strategy.
In response, Lavrov claimed that the war was launched against Russia and was something that the Ukrainian people were trying to influence. Before he could finish his answer, the diplomat was cut off twice by loud laughter from the audience members, as per Yahoo News.
He continued to claim that the conflict, which passed its one-year mark late last month, has influenced Russia's energy policy, adding that they would no longer rely on any partners moving forward.
Despite Lavrov's claim, Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, resulting in the largest military conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Since then, Russia has given various justifications for the war, including that it was meant to stop Ukraine, which it claimed was being led by neo-Nazis despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being a Jewish who lost family during the holocaust.
The Russian government also claimed that NATO was to blame for the war because the alliance's expansion provoked the conflict. However, at the time of the invasion's initial stages, Ukraine was not a member of NATO and is still not a member now. Furthermore, Kyiv was not in the process of joining the alliance in February last year.
Who Started the War?
Furthermore, Lavrov accused the United States of being a hypocrite after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Moscow could not wage war in Ukraine with impunity. According to Reuters, the remarks came during a security forum of the G20 Summit in India.
Lavrov said Blinken's remarks showed the double standards that question Russia's action but allowed the U.S. to hide behind the veil of a "threat to its national interest" to intervene with military forces in several parts of the world.
The top Russian diplomat also said that being questioned when Russia will join negotiations to end the conflict with Ukraine should instead be addressed to Zelensky. Blinken said that if Moscow made the first move to engage in peace talks, they would immediately join, but he noted that there had been no evidence to suggest that fact.
Blinken and Lavrov met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and talked for roughly 20 minutes. They discussed several issues, including the war and American Paul Whelan detained in Russia, said ABC.net.