MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Lavrov arrives in Rio for G20 Summit as world tensions escalate

Ironically, Lavrov arrived from Abu Dhabi, where he attended an international peace and security forum

Russia’s Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov arrived Sunday in Rio de Janeiro to head his country's delegation attending the two-day G20 Summit starting Monday in the former Brazilian capital while President Vladimir Putin stayed in Moscow as winds of World War III blew again during the weekend after US President Joseph Biden gave his nod to Kyiv using US-built missiles.

Ironically, Lavrov arrived from Abu Dhabi, where he attended the Sir Bani Yas International Peace and Security Forum, and was slated to speak at a plenary session on poverty and famine, as well as on reforming global institutions. According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, Lavrov will also hold a series of bilateral talks and meetings on the summit’s sidelines. In addition, he is to announce Russia's adherence to the Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, an initiative promoted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Biden, who was also expected to attend the Rio gathering, authorized Ukraine's regime of President Volodymyr Zelensky to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia. He made this decision just two months before handing over the presidency to his predecessor, the Republican Donald Trump. Some analysts believe Biden's actions could be seeking to blur Trump's international scenario, including the President-elect's son.

In Moscow, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was “clear that the outgoing administration in the United States intends to continue to add fuel to the fire and continue to provoke an escalation of tension” between Russia and Ukraine. He also recalled that Putin had warned in September in St. Petersburg that approving the use of long-range missiles “would mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries” would be at war with Russia, in which case he reserved the right to distribute long-range weaponry to allies worldwide.

Biden's decision was said to be in response to North Korea's deployment of troops to help Moscow. The move came hours after a massive Russian bombardment of Ukraine's energy system, which left at least 11 people dead and forced power cuts.

Zelensky had longed wished Washington greenlighted the use of the so-called Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to hit targets inside Russian territory. These missiles would allow Ukraine to attack Russian army logistics centers and airfields. They are expected to be used in the border region of Kursk, where North Korean soldiers were deployed, The New York Times reported.

“Many media report that we received authorization to take appropriate measures, but attacks are not carried out with words, these things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves,” Zelensky said.

Donald Trump Jr. claimed Sunday that the latest measure was partly an effort to “get World War 3 going” before his father is sworn in. “The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives,” he wrote on X. “Gotta lock in those $Trillions,” he added. “Life be damned!!! Imbeciles!”

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whose country could be the recipient of some of those Russian weapons, said that Biden placed the world in “a defining moment.”

“I could tell you that you have entered a phase of madness, the American empire. In the phase of revenge. Let's take care of Venezuela, let's take care of our peace,” the Bolivarian leader underlined.