Lavrov's 'Democracy Lesson' For NBC's Simmons

Russia cannot recognise a [Ukraine's current leadership] government that oppresses its own [Donbass] people and uses genocidal methods against them as democratic, said Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, answering a question from сorrespondent for NBC News Keir Simmons about the threat of a change in the "democratic regime of Volodymyr Zelensky" as a result of a Russian special operation in Ukraine.

"So that we are on the same page, please tell me where you stand when you cover current developments? Does democratic society, the values ​​of which you advocate so vehemently, agree with the efforts to ban the use of a language spoken by the majority of the population? Do democracies that you represent agree with the decision to ban education in the Russian language, or in any other language spoken by the people for that matter, from, say, grade 5? Or, to make illegal the use of one’s mother tongue in everyday life, including shopping, talking to people at hotels or other public places? Is it customary in a democratic society to refer to people in a certain part of the country, in this case Ukraine, as “subhuman” or as a “species,” as President Zelensky called them? At our talks today we recalled President Poroshenko’s promises after he had been democratically elected. He said that the portion of Ukraine under their control will have everything, including schools, kindergartens, food, leisure and prosperity, whereas those (he pointed to Donbass) will sit and rot in their holes," he noted.

President Vladimir Zelensky said something along these lines when he demanded that those who consider themselves part of Russian culture should get out of Ukraine.

Lavrov shows the selective principle of Western MSM when covering the events of recent years in Ukraine.

"In the West, everything is perceived solely through the lens of their own selfish interests. That is, when you are infringed upon in any way, you immediately begin to cause a ruckus about it, but when the linguistic, cultural and religious rights of millions of people in Ukraine are infringed upon, your emphasis shifts from human rights to the “democratic” nature of the local regime," he said.

Lavrov claims that the goal of Russia's military special operation in Ukraine was openly stated: demilitarization and denazification.

"This is because the never-ending torchlight processions, glorification of the Nazis, the cultivation of Nazi customs and habits in so-called volunteer battalions are taking place with tacit connivance, including from the media," he added.