The key facts

  • Lavrov suggested Russia's allies, including CSTO member states, could be 'punished'
  • He cited attacks on TurkStream and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium as examples
  • The statement was made following a meeting of the CSTO statutory bodies

Statement following the CSTO meeting

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov suggested that the Kyiv authorities may move to 'punishing' states friendly to Moscow, including partners in the Collective Security Treaty Organization. He made this statement following a meeting of the organization's statutory bodies, reports Gazeta.Ru. 'I do not rule out that at some stage, in such an aggressive frenzy, the Kyiv regime may well begin punishing our friends and allies. That would be just like them,' the outlet quoted the minister as saying.

The minister's arguments

To substantiate his claim that Kyiv's actions go beyond geographical borders, Lavrov cited examples of attacks on international energy infrastructure. According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces strike not only deep inside Russian territory, using Western weapons and satellite data, but also hit targets in other countries. He pointed out that the infrastructure of the TurkStream gas pipeline and the Caspian Pipeline Consortium had repeatedly come under attack. Earlier, as the outlet notes, Lavrov named the mastermind behind the sabotage of the Nord Streams. The statement reflects the minister's personal assessment; no confirmation from the Ukrainian side is provided in the publication.