UPDATE - Russia doubts Germany's refusal to send fighter jets to Ukraine

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY LAVROV

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday threw doubt on Germany's refusal to send fighter jets to Ukraine, saying Chancellor Olaf Scholz is known for his shifting positions in the war, which is now nearly a year old.

"It all started with some helmets for Ukrainian servicemen, then small arms appeared, and now they are talking about airplanes ... Scholz swears that it will never happen, but Scholz is also known for the ability to change his position quickly enough," Lavrov told Russian channel Rossiya 24.

He mentioned how German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin "is waging a war against Russia."

The more long-range weapons are supplied to Ukraine, the farther Russia will have to move those weapons from its territory, he added.

Initially reluctant to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine but later bowing to international pressure, Berlin is now one of the top military aid donors to Kyiv.

Last week it decided to supply its Leopard 2 battle tanks to the war-torn country, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked the West for fighter jets, a request Scholz has rejected.

- West creating ‘irritants’ for Russia

Lavrov added that the West continues creating "irritants" for Russia, naming Georgia and Moldova as countries allegedly being incited against Moscow.

To promote peace in Caucasus region, Russia promotes the 3+3 format – Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and their neighbors, Russia, Türkiye, and Iran – he said.

Moldova, meanwhile, is being groomed for the role of the "new Ukraine," he claimed.

He said the West succeeded in "appointing at the head of the country, by specific methods far from free or democratic, the president, who eagerly seeks to join NATO."

Moldovan President Maya Sandu is a “Romanian citizen, and is ready to unite with Romania and in general is ready for almost anything," said Lavrov.

While Sandu actively works to join NATO, she neglects any talks on settling the Transnistria problem, said Lavrov, referring to an unrecognized breakaway region on Moldova’s border which the Council of Europe says is under Russian occupation.

Moldova “is one of the countries that the West wants to turn into another anti-Russia," he said.

Turning to the southern Caucasus region of Karabakh, Lavrov said the story of the conflict "goes deep into the decades."

"When Armenia occupied seven districts around Azerbaijan for many, many years ... Russia offered numerous options, which the previous Armenian leadership did not take very well, positively, wanting to hold these territories.

"Yes, Azerbaijan has returned the lands that belong to it," the minister said.

Baku and Yerevan continue seeking solutions, and Moscow and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) are ready to contribute to a settlement, he added.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, in 44 days of clashes, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages and settlements from Armenian occupation. The Russian-brokered peace agreement is celebrated as a triumph in Azerbaijan.