Lavrov: Baltic states are West's 'warheads' after NATO nuclear deployment talk
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has sharply criticized the Baltic states, saying they serve as the West's main pressure tool against Moscow, following discussions about possible NATO nuclear deployment in the east. He also reiterated that Russia's war in Ukraine will continue until its goals are met.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has made fresh scathing remarks about the Baltic states, describing them as the West's primary instrument for putting pressure on Russia. His comments came after recent discussions about potentially stationing NATO nuclear deterrence capabilities on the alliance's eastern flank, according to Russian media.
Lavrov said Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia had become the main “warheads” directed against Russia. He also referred to what he called the hot-headed nature of Estonians and claimed that Lithuania and Latvia were now ready to lift their ban on hosting nuclear weapons.
The statements follow expressions of readiness by Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda to discuss the possible deployment of NATO nuclear deterrence forces, if the alliance's joint defense policy would envisage it. Both presidents stressed that any such move would be part of NATO's collective security measures, not a unilateral Baltic initiative.
Moscow reacted sharply, with officials saying that the deployment of NATO nuclear deterrence assets in the Baltics would be taken very seriously and would not be ignored.
Lavrov also repeated that Russia has no intention of ending the war in Ukraine until the goals set by President Vladimir Putin are achieved. He referred to demands put forward in June 2024, including the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, recognition of Crimea and those territories as Russian territory, Ukraine's renunciation of NATO membership, and the country's “demilitarization” and “denazification.”
Additionally, Lavrov accused Western countries of failing to honor previous agreements and said Moscow no longer trusts its Western partners.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that Russia is effectively at war not only with Ukraine but also with European countries and the United States, and that the conflict has long grown into a “full-scale war” rather than the so-called “special military operation.”
