10:38Mandatory credit: Antalya Diplomacy Forum
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia knows 'for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel' in Ukraine while speaking at a briefing on the sidelines of a special session of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on Friday.
"We know for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries," Lavrov said.
The minister made a statement regarding a leaked recording of discussions, purportedly featuring a conversation among senior Bundeswehr officers.
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there," Lavrov commented.
The politician also added he did not know how the Germans would 'explain themselves to their population'.
"And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US' - that was all [said] directly. So I don't know what to call it, but our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie. I don't know how they will explain it to their population."
On Friday, RT and Rossiya Segodnya editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote in a Telegram post that 'men in uniform' had shared with her a recording of high-ranking Bundeswehr officers discussing 'how they will bomb the Crimean bridge', as well as supplying weapons to Ukraine, including Taurus cruise missiles. According to Simonyan, who published the recording and its transcript on the same day, the conversation had taken place on February 19.
Earlier on Thursday German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Berlin rejected calls to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, noting that if the system is 'used incorrectly, [it] can hit a designated target in Moscow somewhere'.
Scholz added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin wanted to avoid 'escalating the conflict into a war between Russia and NATO'.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on Friday that the leaked recording was 'good cause' for the German media to 'prove they were independent' by asking German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock the relevant questions.
State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin said in his Telegram channel on Friday that the publicised recording 'obliges the German leadership to give explanations'.
At the time of publication, there was no official reaction or comment from the German authorities regarding the published audio recording.
'We know for a fact' about 'disguised' NATO personnel in Ukraine - Lavrov
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia knows 'for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel' in Ukraine while speaking at a briefing on the sidelines of a special session of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on Friday.
"We know for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries," Lavrov said.
The minister made a statement regarding a leaked recording of discussions, purportedly featuring a conversation among senior Bundeswehr officers.
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there," Lavrov commented.
The politician also added he did not know how the Germans would 'explain themselves to their population'.
"And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US' - that was all [said] directly. So I don't know what to call it, but our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie. I don't know how they will explain it to their population."
On Friday, RT and Rossiya Segodnya editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote in a Telegram post that 'men in uniform' had shared with her a recording of high-ranking Bundeswehr officers discussing 'how they will bomb the Crimean bridge', as well as supplying weapons to Ukraine, including Taurus cruise missiles. According to Simonyan, who published the recording and its transcript on the same day, the conversation had taken place on February 19.
Earlier on Thursday German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Berlin rejected calls to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, noting that if the system is 'used incorrectly, [it] can hit a designated target in Moscow somewhere'.
Scholz added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin wanted to avoid 'escalating the conflict into a war between Russia and NATO'.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on Friday that the leaked recording was 'good cause' for the German media to 'prove they were independent' by asking German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock the relevant questions.
State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin said in his Telegram channel on Friday that the publicised recording 'obliges the German leadership to give explanations'.
At the time of publication, there was no official reaction or comment from the German authorities regarding the published audio recording.
Mandatory credit: Antalya Diplomacy Forum
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed that Russia knows 'for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel' in Ukraine while speaking at a briefing on the sidelines of a special session of the Antalya Diplomatic Forum on Friday.
"We know for a fact about the involvement of NATO military personnel who are disguised either as mercenaries or as people who do not belong to the armed forces of NATO countries," Lavrov said.
The minister made a statement regarding a leaked recording of discussions, purportedly featuring a conversation among senior Bundeswehr officers.
"German generals are discussing how they can more cunningly supply Ukraine with long-range weapons - Taurus is mentioned there - to attack the Crimean bridge and ammunition depots. And how to do it without being noticed, because Scholz doesn't like it, but the Americans and the British are already there," Lavrov commented.
The politician also added he did not know how the Germans would 'explain themselves to their population'.
"And there may have been some talk about whether it was possible to remotely guide these missiles without being in Ukraine. But one of the generals said, 'you know, it will still be our direct participation [in the conflict].' So they know what they're talking about. And in one of the exchanges they just said, 'well, there are guys there in civilian clothes from the US' - that was all [said] directly. So I don't know what to call it, but our NATO colleagues have all their fingers in the pie. I don't know how they will explain it to their population."
On Friday, RT and Rossiya Segodnya editor-in-chief Margarita Simonyan wrote in a Telegram post that 'men in uniform' had shared with her a recording of high-ranking Bundeswehr officers discussing 'how they will bomb the Crimean bridge', as well as supplying weapons to Ukraine, including Taurus cruise missiles. According to Simonyan, who published the recording and its transcript on the same day, the conversation had taken place on February 19.
Earlier on Thursday German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reiterated that Berlin rejected calls to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles, noting that if the system is 'used incorrectly, [it] can hit a designated target in Moscow somewhere'.
Scholz added that despite supporting Ukraine with arms, as well as economic and humanitarian aid, Berlin wanted to avoid 'escalating the conflict into a war between Russia and NATO'.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova commented on Friday that the leaked recording was 'good cause' for the German media to 'prove they were independent' by asking German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock the relevant questions.
State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin said in his Telegram channel on Friday that the publicised recording 'obliges the German leadership to give explanations'.
At the time of publication, there was no official reaction or comment from the German authorities regarding the published audio recording.