Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Shared A Detailed Update About Regional Developments

His insight helps better understand the Kremlin’s position towards sensitive issues, which can in turn enable one to more accurately predict how these situations might evolve.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin gave an interview to TASS over the weekend where he shared a detailed update about regional developments in Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus. It’s in Russian but can be read by anyone using Google Translate. His insight helps better understand the Kremlin’s position towards sensitive issues, which can in turn enable one to more accurately predict how these situations might evolve. Here are the points from his interview that deserve the most attention:

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1. Russia No Longer Blames The West’s For Kiev’s Drone Attack Against The Kremlin

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov earlier blamed the West for Kiev’s drone attack against the Kremlin, yet Galuzin just clarified that “As we understand, these steps of the Ukrainian authorities were not coordinated with their Western masters”.

2. Moscow’s End Game In The Ongoing Conflict Remains Unchanged

The Deputy Foreign Minister reaffirmed that his side continues to insist on Ukraine’s neutral non-aligned status, its demilitarization and denazification, keeping it out of NATO and the EU, Kiev’s recognition of the on-the-ground territorial realities, and the regime’s respect of its Russian minority’s human rights.

3. The Anglo-American Axis Is Pressuring Kiev To Commence Its Counteroffensive

Galuzin is of the opinion that Kiev’s upcoming counteroffensive will have catastrophic consequences for that country and its people, but the Anglo-American Axis is still pressuring its proxies to go through with this anyhow in order to prolong the conflict and continue fighting Russia “until the last Ukrainian”.  

4. Russia Is Adamantly Against Kiev’s Persecution Of The Ukrainian Orthodox Church

Kiev’s persecution of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church represents a grave violation of its Russian minority’s human rights, which is why Moscow remains adamantly against it and will continue reminding international institutions about these crimes with the hope that they’ll pressure the regime to stop.

5. Any Provocation Against Russian Peacekeepers In Transnistria Will Be Immediately Responded To

Galuzin warned that the prior reports of Kiev’s reportedly planned provocations against his country’s peacekeepers in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria will be immediately responded to, which should hopefully prompt them to think twice about targeting it during their upcoming counteroffensive.

6. Moldova Is Dangerously Following In Ukraine’s Footsteps Via Aggressive De-Russification

Even if no provocations against Russian peacekeepers in Transnistria are forthcoming, Moldova will still remain troublesome for Moscow due to its aggressive Ukrainian-inspired de-Russification policies, thus suggesting that it could become the next regional crisis in the worst-case scenario.

7. The Kremlin Will Continue Facilitating The Armenian-Azerbaijani Peace Process

On a positive note, Galuzin ended his interview by expressing cautious optimism about the Kremlin-facilitated Armenian-Azerbaijani peace process, which he believes has a credible chance of succeeding and thus ending one of the former Soviet Union’s longest-running conflicts.

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In sum, Russia remains committed to achieving the goals set out at the start of its special operation despite speculation of ceasefire talks by year’s end. Nevertheless, by clarifying that Moscow no longer believes that Kiev coordinated its bombing of the Kremlin with the West, the possibility exists in theory of holding talks with the latter’s US leader aimed at some sort of compromise. Amidst this uncertainty, Moldova is becoming more problematic while the situation in the South Caucasus might soon improve.