Lavrov draws parallels between Israel and Ukraine | 31 Aug 2024 | Ukraine and Israel are trying to spark major regional wars which they believe will solve their own problems at the expense of others, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. The country's senior diplomat made the remarks in an exclusive interview with RT, aired on Saturday. Asked about the prospects of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East devolving into a major regional war, Lavrov suggested Israel was effectively the only party seeking such conflict. "It seems that the only one who wants such a development is Israel. Probably the Israeli government, which is rather hard politics-wise, and they do not even hide that," Lavrov stated. "Probably, they want to take advantage of this situation to once and for all try to solve all their problems with Hamas and with Hezbollah, and with pro-Iranian groups in Syria and Iraq," the minister suggested, adding that Tehran seems to be avoiding such a conflict and "does not want to get involved in any large-scale military actions." Israel's behavior shares striking similarities to Ukraine's, with Kiev apparently seeking to drag its Western backers into a direct conflict with Moscow, Lavrov pointed out.