Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday cited “American exceptionalism” as a key reason for the current war in Ukraine.
A Kremlin official made the statement in an interview broadcast on Russian state TV. In an English translation provided by Russian state-controlled outlet RT, Lavrov said the American government’s belief that the United States was a superior nation had led Washington to wage a “proxy war” against Russia through Ukraine.
Lavrov specifically referred to “American exceptionalism,” the belief that American principles are inherently right. This faith has been named by many as central to the nation’s identity.
He said that American leaders unfairly believe that the US is an “exceptional nation, different from the rest of the world” and thus try to lead the world in fear of becoming “chaos”.
“I am sure that this is the main reason why we are now faced with nations waging a proxy war against us through this extraordinary, complete conviction of their infallibility and superiority-Kyiv regime,” Lavrov said, according to RT.
Photos by Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
In his interview, Lavrov cited an opinion story written by Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser. Atlantic In 2019.
“No vision of American exceptionalism can succeed if the United States does not defeat an emerging vision that emphasizes ethnic and cultural identity,” Sullivan wrote in the story, as Lavrov noted.
The Russian official quoted another passage from Sullivan: “The main objective of American foreign policy is to protect and defend the American way of life.”
Lavrov said such statements are “horrific” and deprive other nations of “the right to remember their history.”
He advocated that the US government apply this principle in its relations with other countries.
“Just as they melted everyone who came to America into the pot, they now want to melt everyone else, so they become essentially Americans,” the foreign minister said.
Elsewhere in the interview, Lavrov condemned Kyiv’s continued supply of NATO with military and financial aid.
“The whole of NATO is fighting us, and all the accusations and mantras of ‘we’re not fighting, only weapons’ – it’s ridiculous,” he said.
As he has in the past, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being manipulated by the West, Lavrov said.
Newsweek Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been reached for comment.
