Russia’s Lavrov warns of ‘real’ danger of World War III

MOSCOW — Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday that peace talks with Ukraine would continue, while warning there was a “real” danger of a World War III.

Speaking to Russian news agencies, he criticized Kyiv’s approach to the talks, adding: “Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn’t reciprocal, that doesn’t help the negotiation process.

“But we are continuing to engage in negotiations with the team delegated by [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, and these contacts will go on.”

Lavrov accused former actor Zelensky of “pretending” to negotiate. “He’s a good actor,” he said. But he added: “If you watch attentively and read attentively what he says, you’ll find a thousand contradictions.”

Given the current tensions, Lavrov said the danger of a World War III was “real.”

“The danger is serious, it is real, you can’t underestimate it,” Lavrov told the Interfax news agency.

Of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, he said he was confident that “everything will of course finish with the signing of an accord.

“But the parameters of this accord will be defined by the state of the fighting that will have taken place at the moment the accord becomes reality,” he added.