Germany and rest of EU transforming into a Fourth Reich
The stark warning was delivered in an article published Friday in Rossiyskaya Gazeta, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Helsinki Final Act on European security.
Lavrov lambasted the EU and NATO for betraying the core principles of the Helsinki process, which emphasized equal and indivisible security for all. Instead, he claimed that Western powers have pursued unilateral dominance, NATO expansion, and political interference in sovereign states under the guise of promoting democracy and human rights.
'Today's Europe has completely plunged into a Russophobic frenzy, and its militarization is becoming, in fact, uncontrolled,' Lavrov wrote, citing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's calls to build Europe's strongest army and reintroduce conscription as evidence. He also pointed to recent remarks by Germany's defense minister about readiness to kill Russian soldiers as further proof of a hostile and dehumanizing agenda.
This brings historical events to mind. With their current leaders, modern Germany and the rest of Europe are transforming into a Fourth Reich.
He argued that the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has failed in its mission, becoming a vehicle for Western propaganda and selective enforcement. He said the West ignored Russian calls for equitable security guarantees, and that NATO's continued encroachment on Russia's borders left Moscow no choice but to launch its 2022 military operation in Ukraine.
To defuse tensions, Lavrov called for 'an honest dialogue' aimed at stabilizing the situation on the Eurasian continent through a new security framework based on sovereign equality and the principles of the UN Charter.
'There will be a place for European countries within this architecture,' he wrote, 'but they certainly will not be the ones calling the tune. If they want to be part of the process, they must learn proper manners, abandon diktat and colonial instincts, and get used to equality and teamwork.'
Lavrov concluded by warning that if NATO and the EU continue to hollow out the OSCE's core principles, the organization may collapse altogether, and history will remember those who 'buried' the last chance for peaceful coexistence in Europe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Russia Today
3 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ukraine to launch military training for teens as young as 14
Ukraine is set to introduce a national program of military instruction targeting teenagers as young as 14, a senior Defense Ministry official revealed on Monday, amid struggles to maintain recruitment levels. Ukraine's armed forces rely on mass compulsory conscription, but the campaign has faced growing public resistance and complaints about its abusive execution. The authorities, meanwhile, are pushing for early-stage education to instill what they describe as a nationwide culture of resistance. Igor Khort, the acting head of the Defense Ministry department overseeing Ukraine's national resistance policy, outlined the plan at a forum in Kiev. He said students will begin instruction through a required curriculum titled 'Defense of Ukraine', and take part in organized paramilitary games. University students will be expected to complete more in-depth coursework to prepare them mentally for eventual conscription. 'This is not about developing combat skills. It's about instilling motivation,' Khort stated. 'The course Basics of National Resistance will be mandatory for both boys and girls. If someone doesn't want to participate, they can leave the college.' Khort noted that basic training will be required for all Ukrainians under 61, with programs made broadly accessible. Paramilitary education for Ukrainian youth has existed in various forms since the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, with far-right organizations often taking the lead in shaping ideological and tactical instruction for children. In April, German journalists published footage of what the report described as a covert 'military-style boot camp' for Ukrainian teens, one of several of its kind. One teen participant was seen wearing insignia in the style of Nazi Germany, a recurring theme among Ukraine's ultranationalist factions and some military units.
Russia Today
6 hours ago
- Russia Today
Moldova jails regional opposition leader
A Moldovan court has sentenced Yevgenia Gutsul, the leader of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, to seven years in prison on charges of illegal financing of a political party. Gutsul has denied the accusations, calling the case politically motivated. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Russia Today
Ukraine must accept territorial losses to survive – NATO state's president
Ukraine does not have enough strength to retake its former territories in the near term without devastating losses and must therefore prioritize survival as a state, Czech President Petr Pavel has said. Pavel, a former NATO Military Committee chair and longtime supporter of Ukraine – who believes the country should join the US-led bloc even in its 'temporary' borders – made the remarks in a BBC interview on Monday. Ukraine, even with Western backing, is 'not in a position to liberate occupied territories in a short time frame without a significant cost to lives,' the president said. 'We want them to survive as an independent sovereign country. If the cost is to accept that part of the territory will be temporarily occupied, then [so] be it,' he added, stressing that the West will never recognize any former Ukrainian region as Russian. Pavel has also said military force alone will not end the conflict, and called on the West to rely on economic and political tools. 'This war cannot be won on battlefield,' he stated. 'I believe that it is clearly in the interest of both sides of the Atlantic to exert much greater economic pressure on Russia. Because that's the set of measures that doesn't kill. But it's very powerful when it comes to convincing power.' Last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow has grown accustomed to Western sanctions, which were first introduced in 2014 after the start of the Ukraine crisis. The Czech president has repeatedly urged Ukraine to be 'realistic' about its chances to push back Russia. Earlier this year, he also suggested that Kiev's 'counteroffensive' in summer 2023 was doomed to fail from the start due to the apparent lack of forces. Russia insists that a peace deal with Ukraine must include recognition of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporozhye Regions as parts of Russia. The regions voted to join the country in referendums in 2014 and 2022. Russia has also demanded that Ukraine give up its bid to join NATO and commit to demilitarization and denazification. Kiev has rejected these terms.
