Growing tensions: Moscow and Washington “on the brink of direct military conflict”, warns Sergei Lavrov

In an interview published on Friday November 1 by the Turkish daily Hürriyet, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declared that the United States and Russia were “on the brink of direct military conflict”. According to him, under the current US administration, which has fanned a wave of Russophobia, this tension has continued to grow, with the two nations coming dangerously close to an armed confrontation.

Asked about the US elections, Lavrov stressed that Moscow had “no preference” as to the future US president, recalling that the Trump administration had nonetheless put in place a record number of anti-Russian sanctions. He added that, whoever wins the election, “the US position towards Russia should not change”.

While international tensions continue to cause concern, Russian-American relations remain ambiguous and complex. In recent months, Russia has stepped up its efforts to influence the US campaign, notably by releasing conspiracy videos targeting Vice President Kamala Harris, as Microsoft recently reported. This situation is fuelling growing concerns about the risks of foreign interference in the American electoral process.

As for Vladimir Putin, he remains cautious, indicating that future relations with Washington will depend on the actions of the post-election US administration.