Common Grounds
Russia's Sergei Lavrov Compares Ukraine to Palestine
Source: Newsweek
https://www.newsweek.com/russia-sergei-lavrov-compares-ukraine-palestine-putin-israel-1706810
By JACK DUTTON
Published May 16, 2022
Watch the VIDEO HERE

A video of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov saying that for Russians to not lose sleep over the Ukraine war, they must imagine the eastern European country is "Palestine," has been shared by the Russian embassy in Geneva.
"When the United States declares that there is a threat to the United States 10,000 kilometers from the border of the United States, some people were grumbling, some were expressing their concern, but there was no hysteria like the one we witness today," he said in the video footage, shared on May 11. It is not immediately clear when it was recorded.
"When Russia, having warned for many, many years, that this is going to be a problem that we cannot tolerate a threat which NATO and the United States have been building just on our border, not 10,000 kilometers away," he said, laughing.
"You know, there was one interesting message I saw in Telegram from the Middle East. They say if you 'cannot sleep' because of the Russian conflict, there are some advices to calm you down. First, imagine this is happening in Africa. Imagine this is happening in the Middle East. Imagine Ukraine is Palestine, imagine Russia is the United States."
The video has picked up traction online, being viewed more than 80,000 times.
Newsweek has contacted Israel's foreign ministry for comment. Newsweek has also contacted the Palestinian ministry of foreign affairs.
The comments are likely to irk many Africans and Israel. Just last week, Lavrov was on a state visit to Algeria to deepen Russian ties with the North African country.
Only recently Israel's government was deeply offended by comments Lavrov made about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, and Adolf Hitler.
In an interview on Italian television on May 1, Lavrov claimed that Zelensky being Jewish "does not negate the Nazi elements in Ukraine," repeating a line pushed by Russian President Vladimir Putin to justify invading Ukraine in February.
SHARE YOUR OPINION, POST A COMMENT
Fill in the field below to share your opinion and post your comment.
LATEST OPEN LETTERS
- 06-02Non military defence of Ukraine
- 02-01Avoiding Human Extinction
- 01-06A request to save the disabled children from ISIS
- 08-10Save our mountains
- 21-01His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
- 30-12Support for the Syrian President and the Syrian people
- 05-06To International Community and Leaders around the world
- 03-07Letter of Apology
- 20-05Sace palestine
- 20-05Free Palestine
VIRTUAL POST OFFICE
PETITIONS
LINKS
DONATION
Latest Blog Articles
- 29-06Wednesday Edition | Chomsky on Israeli apartheid, celebrity activists, BDS and the one-state solution
- 28-06Opinion: Our story, like most Palestinian survivors, is one of resilience, courage and fortitude
- 28-06Chomsky on Israeli apartheid, celebrity activists, BDS and the one-state solution
- 28-06I won’t cut the baby in half, Bennett declares– and the baby is apartheid
- 27-06The Evangelical Pope | Beauty Will Save the World
- 24-06Why Should Ukrainians Die for Europe, aka the Eu-US Coalition of the Willing?
- 22-06Wednesday Edition | Theology in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Revisiting Bonhoeffer and the Jews
- 21-06A colonized Palestine isn’t the answer to the world’s guilt
- 21-06No Peace without Justice: On Determining the Future of Palestine
- 21-06Theology in the Shadow of the Holocaust: Revisiting Bonhoeffer and the Jews
- 20-06The Evangelical Pope | Let Us Be One
Latest Comments
And what's wrong here? After all, there is the homeland …
Comment by Isac BoianDoes this reinforce or deny my argument that Israel is …
Comment by Edward CampbellMany 'say' they support the Palestinian cause but do little …
Comment by Philip McFedriesThe UN is strangled by the "war for profit" cabal …
Comment by Philip McFedriesI can't read the printing on the map.
Comment by Philip McFedriesGood news!
Comment by Philip McFedriesLove your content and style. I have come to the …
Comment by Philip McFedries
COMMENTS
This article has 0 comments at this time. We invoke you to participate the discussion and leave your comment below. Share your opinion and let the world know.