Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that European countries are refusing to discuss the potential environmental disaster that could result from Ukraine’s attack on the Russian gas tanker Arctic Metagaz in the Mediterranean Sea, in an interview that sparked angry reactions in Paris and Kiev.

On March 3, the Russian Ministry of Transport reported that the gas tanker Arctic Metagaz had been attacked by Ukrainian drones off the coast of Libya, near Malta’s territorial waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Russian investigative committee, noted that the tanker sustained severe damage as a result of the attack and is drifting uncontrollably in the southern Mediterranean.

Lavrov added in an interview with France Television”: “The tanker contains 140,000 tons of hydrocarbons. This is a potential environmental disaster... No European country wants to talk about this anywhere. No one in your media has mentioned the incident involving this tanker, which—I repeat—was brought down by a Ukrainian drone.”

Lavrov: Iran finds itself in a situation similar to Iraq and Libya

On another topic, the Russian foreign minister stated that Iran finds itself in a situation similar to Iraq, Syria, and Libya, which were ultimately destroyed due to the destructive U.S. intervention in the Middle East.

He said: “Every time the United States and its allies intervene in the ongoing events there in the Middle East, the situation becomes more dangerous. Iraq, Syria, and Libya are devastated, and it is unclear when they will be reunified. Now the same thing is happening with Iran.

On February 28, the United States and “Israel” launched a war against Iran, resulting in damage and civilian casualties. Iran is responding by launching strikes on U.S. military targets in the Middle East and the occupied Palestinian territories.

Lavrov: Ukrainian Officials Are Neo-Nazis

Lavrov went on to criticize the Kiev regime, describing Ukrainian officials as neo-Nazis who have no connection to Western values—specifically those brought about by the French Revolution—pointing to their suppression of Russian-speaking minorities and religious minorities affiliated with the Orthodox Church.

He reiterated that Ukraine bears full responsibility for the war that erupted following the Russian attack on its territory four years ago, accusing Western countries of hypocrisy regarding human rights and casting doubt on press freedom in France.

Immediately after the remote interview from Lavrov’s headquarters in Moscow aired on Thursday evening during prime time—and was viewed by 3.4 million viewers according to MediaMeter data—French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot expressed regret that his Russian counterpart “was able to calmly present his propaganda” on a French public channel.

The French minister said, “Repeating lies during prime time does not make them true,” accusing Russia of launching an aggressive war against Ukraine in 2022 and committing documented war crimes during it.

For his part, the Ukrainian ambassador to Paris, Vadym Omelchenko, asked on the social media platform X: “What is the point of giving a platform to an ordinary fascist and war criminal?”