07:47Mandatory credit: Russian Society 'Znanie'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the very fact of the 'attack on Russia' does not seem to be unexpected, commenting on the Western politicians' reaction to the leaked recording of German officers' conversations. This was said at the platform of the World Youth Festival 2024 on the Sirius Federal Territory on Monday.
"When the conversation between the German generals was revealed and the recording of this conversation was widely circulated, the reaction of German politicians was interesting: some of them were concerned that there was a leak in the networks ensuring the security of the talks. In other words, the very fact that German weapons and German specialists who maintain these weapons are being prepared as well as an attack on Russia, including the Crimean bridge, including ammunition depots, as they discussed among themselves, was not surprising [for them]," Lavrov said.
On Friday, 1 March, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Crimean Bridge.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.
'Attack on Russia' seemed 'not surprising' to them - Lavrov on German reaction to leaked audio recording
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the very fact of the 'attack on Russia' does not seem to be unexpected, commenting on the Western politicians' reaction to the leaked recording of German officers' conversations. This was said at the platform of the World Youth Festival 2024 on the Sirius Federal Territory on Monday.
"When the conversation between the German generals was revealed and the recording of this conversation was widely circulated, the reaction of German politicians was interesting: some of them were concerned that there was a leak in the networks ensuring the security of the talks. In other words, the very fact that German weapons and German specialists who maintain these weapons are being prepared as well as an attack on Russia, including the Crimean bridge, including ammunition depots, as they discussed among themselves, was not surprising [for them]," Lavrov said.
On Friday, 1 March, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Crimean Bridge.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.
Mandatory credit: Russian Society 'Znanie'
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that the very fact of the 'attack on Russia' does not seem to be unexpected, commenting on the Western politicians' reaction to the leaked recording of German officers' conversations. This was said at the platform of the World Youth Festival 2024 on the Sirius Federal Territory on Monday.
"When the conversation between the German generals was revealed and the recording of this conversation was widely circulated, the reaction of German politicians was interesting: some of them were concerned that there was a leak in the networks ensuring the security of the talks. In other words, the very fact that German weapons and German specialists who maintain these weapons are being prepared as well as an attack on Russia, including the Crimean bridge, including ammunition depots, as they discussed among themselves, was not surprising [for them]," Lavrov said.
On Friday, 1 March, Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, published an audio recording of a conversation between four German senior officers, discussing the possible use of Taurus missiles in Ukraine, the supply of 100 such missiles and possible targets, including the Crimean Bridge.
According to Simonyan, the recording proved that Germany's Western partners were 'working almost openly in Ukraine'. She said that the audio was from February 19, 2024 and had been given to her by 'people in uniform'.
The German Defence Ministry subsequently confirmed the audio was genuine. Chancellor Olaf Scholz called it a 'very serious' security breach which would be 'investigated very carefully'. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius claimed it was part of Russia's 'information war' and said it didn't mean there had been a 'green light' to send Taurus.
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said Germany must provide an explanation as 'attempts to avoid answering questions will be treated as an admission of guilt.
Scholz has consistently rejected calls to send Taurus missiles to Kiev, saying that 'if used incorrectly, they could hit a target somewhere in Moscow' and that he wanted to avoid any escalation.
The leaked audio followed a major row between Germany and the UK last week, after Scholz repeatedly claimed that the country, as well as France, was helping Ukraine with 'target control' of its missiles.
The chancellor's apparent revelations came while attempting to justify why the Taurus system would not be sent - because it required German troops on the ground.
Former UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace criticised 'not only dangerous use of facts but also often wrong facts', describing Scholz as 'the wrong man, in the wrong job at the wrong time', while British Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee Alicia Kearns also called it 'wrong, irresponsible and a slap in the face to allies'.