Russian Defense Minister Andriy Belousov called Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin earlier this month to warn him of a “secret operation” that Ukraine was preparing against Russia: the New York Times writes (Nyt), citing three US officials.
On July 12, Austin received an “unusual request” from Belousov, the newspaper said. According to sources, the Russian minister warned Washington about Kiev’s preparations for a secret operation against Russia, which he believed had the Americans’ approval. Belousov asked Austin whether the Pentagon was aware of the operation, warning that it could lead to an escalation of tensions between Moscow and Washington.
Pentagon officials were surprised by Belousov’s claims and were unaware of the operation, the NYT reports, adding: “But whatever Belousov revealed … was taken seriously enough because the Americans contacted the Ukrainians and said, in essence, ‘If you’re thinking of doing something like this, don’t do it.’”
The paper explains that despite Ukraine’s deep dependence on the United States for military, intelligence and diplomatic support, Ukrainian officials “are not always transparent” with their American counterparts about their military operations, particularly those directed against Russian targets behind enemy lines. Ukrainian officials and the Kremlin declined to comment on the report, and the Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment, the paper reports.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Lavrov clarified – speaking about the talks between the heads of diplomacy of Ukraine and China in the press conference of the ASEAN ministerial meeting in Laos – that “any peace negotiation between Russia and Ukraine cannot be based only on Kiev’s proposal”.
A “serious conversation” to reach a solution in Ukraine must take into account “the existing reality on the territorial level”, namely the 4 regions that Russia has “acquired”Lavrov commented on a proposal by former US President Donald Trump for an “economic” solution to the crisis in Ukraine: it denotes, according to Lavrov, a “businessman’s approach” and “does not take into account the existing realities, especially the territorial ones”. Speaking at a press conference in Vientiane, Laos, Lavrov cited an article by former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo according to which “instead of simply giving money to Ukraine, $500 billion would be allocated on lend-lease terms to receive money from those who would replace each other in Kiev for many years”. Lavrov said that he “cannot comment on these ideas that are not serious” and stem from “the West’s awareness of the futility of counting on the defeat of the Russian Federation”. “When they propose something serious, of course, as the president said, we are always ready for an honest conversation that takes into account the existing realities. And the reality is that we have introduced amendments to our Constitution, which mentions four regions of the Russian Federation that voted in favor in the referendum. This is one of the main realities that must be taken into account,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.
Minister Wang Yi informed his Russian counterpart about his contacts with Dmitry Kuleba, who visited Beijing in recent days, Lavrov said, explaining that the Chinese position is to focus on the underlying causes of the conflict. “The Chinese position is very clearly formulated in its documents. Preparations for a conference or a multilateral event could be discussed only when the parameters and conditions of convening such events are acceptable to all parties. And only if all existing initiatives are included in the agenda. This is a direct refusal to work based only on Zelensky’s peace formula.”