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Sergei Lavrov began his annual news conference this morning by wishing those in attendance a merry Christmas and a happy new year. 

Moving to his address, he begins by discussing the aftermath of the Second World War, the establishment of the UN and the Cold War, driving at how the Ukraine war has roots that stretch back decades.

Turning to the war, he repeats Moscow’s longstanding claims about its origins. 

“In the past years President Putin repeatedly… described the root causes of the start of the special military operation,” he says. 

He says the West was moving right up to Russia’s borders and “that compelled us to repel the attack”, referring to the eastward expansion of the NATO alliance. 

Simultaneously, a regime in Ukraine he says is illegitimate launched a “sweeping war against all Russian language and culture”. 

Lavrov boasts of Moscow’s allies and ‘downfall’ of West

Sergei Lavrov moves his attention to the West, which he says wants to be “masters of everyone’s destiny”.

The Russian foreign minister says this is “alarming to me” because “times have dramatically changed” over the past 30 to 35 years.

“The opposition to diktat of the West is now reinstated… in the face of the new emerging economies and financial centres,” he says.

He includes the “majority” of the Global South in this, calling them “powerhouse groups”.

“The current elites of the West cannot overcome this inertia. And they are going downhill, trying to impede the path of their competitors everywhere,” he adds.

Kremlin will keep a ‘close eye’ on Trump

Sergei Lavrov now turns to the US.

He claims that sweeping sanctions imposed by Washington on Russia are an American attempt to stop economic competition. 

The US and its allies have passed several rounds of sanctions on the Russian state, companies and individuals in response to Moscow’s war in Ukraine. 

He describes the politics behind the implementation of the sanctions as a “soap opera”. 

He notes the imminent return of Donald Trump, and says the Kremlin will keep a “close eye” on how he will approach further sanctions.

He says Trump has pledged to make America great again, so “we should have a close eye on the methods and possible methods of President Trump to attain those goals”. 

With that, he ends his speech and asks for questions.