Russian ambassador Elbrus Kutrashev told Iraqi Shiite Al-Ahad television that his country does not believe in the intentions of American President-elect Donald Trump to end the Ukrainian-Russian war.
In an interview for the program “Before Tomorrow,” Kutrashev stated that Trump’s statements during the election campaign indicate that he wants changes, but “America is a country with a powerful lobby that imposes its will on the president.” He added that “internal pressures forced Trump to take hostile steps against Russia,” noting at the same time that “Trump wants to stop the Russian-Ukrainian war.” In his opinion, “American lobbyists, selling weapons and gas, are benefiting from the economic weakening of Europe.” He also said that “some American circles want to destroy Russian-European relations” and that “the keys to Ukraine are in America’s hands.” He stressed that “the Russian-Ukrainian war would not have happened without America’s bad policy”.
A similar mendacious narrative appeared at Kutrashev’s meeting with the new speaker of the Iraqi parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, who stated that “Iraq supports efforts to end the Russian-Ukrainian war and the wars ravaging the Middle East region”, calling on “the international community to intervene to end these conflicts”.
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Russian “diplomats” are not actively participating in disinformation operations conducted by Russia in the international arena for the first time. One such person is the Russian ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kutrashev, who systematically pursues an aggressive information policy, including actions directly aimed at the image of Poland.
Kutrashev is implementing a broad propaganda agenda of the Kremlin, which is part of building a false image of the West – as aggressive, responsible for the outbreak of the war in Ukraine and planning an attack on Russia. Moreover, in order to legitimize Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine, it falsifies the history of World War II.
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A public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within the frame of “Public Diplomacy 2024-2025: The European Dimension and Countering Disinformation” contest
The publication expresses only the views of the author and cannot be identified with the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
