If Austin talks about risk of NATO-Russia conflict, it means US has a plan for it — Lavrov

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, by saying that NATO and Russia could end up fighting each other if Ukraine is defeated, proved that the US has a plan for it, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a diplomatic conference in Antalya.

"The meaning of this statement is that if Ukraine loses, NATO will have to go against Russia. In a Freudian slip he blurted out what they had in mind. Before that, everyone was saying: We can't let Ukraine lose, because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will not stop at this and will take over the Baltics, Poland, Finland. But it turns out, according to Mr. Austin's open, unambiguous statement, it's the other way round. We do not have such plans and cannot have them, but the Americans do," the minister said.

According to Lavrov, Europe is currently the main victim of the US policy of "dragging Ukraine into NATO."

"All major expenses have been shifted to Europe. People are living increasingly worse, energy resouces have rocketed in price manyfold, compared with what it could have been if the Americans had not blown up the Nord Stream gas pipelines," the minister said.

He said the situation around Ukraine was devised by Washington to make sure that the European Union doesn’t become too strong of a rival to the US economy.

"And this goal has been achieved. Europe is now no longer a competitor to the US at all. All the main businesses and manufacturing industry are moving to the US, where conditions are completely different and energy is much cheaper," Lavrov said.

Austin earlier said that he believed "NATO will be in a fight with Russia" if Ukraine was defeated. The US Defense Secretary made the statement at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.