Margarita Simonyan, a Russian state TV host and editor-in-chief of the state-sponsored RT, has said a that “big war” is set to commence by the end of winter, following ultimatums made by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In a clip that has gone viral on Twitter since being posted on Sunday, Simonyan suggested that the conflict between Russia, the West and Ukraine may escalate if Putin’s demands are not met.
She highlighted the peace talk demands that Putin announced in December last year and argued that neither side appears willing to back down, which will result in a greater conflict.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks as he meets with workers at the Obukhov State Plant, January 18, 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Russian State TV host and RT editor in chief said that a “big war” is likely to follow by the end of war.
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Russian state TV discussed the best strategies to be used against the U.S., which included their idea for killing scores of Americans. They named only one American they did not want to kill: Tucker Carlson. Watch:
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— Julia Davis (@JuliaDavisNews) January 22, 2023
On December 25, Putin said he was willing to negotiate with Ukraine and the West on ending the conflict, but insisted it was not his fault talks were not progressing.
Putin said: “We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them—we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are.
He continued: “I believe that we are acting in the right direction, we are defending our national interests, the interests of our citizens, our people. And we have no other choice but to protect our citizens.”
Reflecting on this during the show, Simonyan said: “In December, [Putin] voiced the way we see the finer things in life. In order for things not to go very badly right now our concerns have to be taken into account, as well as our vision of security.
“They should do this, that and the other. Remember how it went, one year ago, two months before the start of the special military operation, it was ignored.
“What was the result of ignoring that? The special military operation was the result of that. After those December points were voiced, I was arguing with guys at the table.
“I kept saying: ‘Guys, there will be a big war, for sure! By the end of winter, something very big will happen.’
“Otherwise, those points would not have been voiced in the form resembling an ultimatum.
“At some point, in the form of an ultimatum, we’ll have to announce that the silos are open or whichever way it’s done, I’m not a specialist.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has echoed similar sentiments regarding Russian conditions being met in order for the war to conclude.
One of the conditions he raised while speaking to the Russian state news agency TASS last year was the “denazification and demilitarization” of Ukraine.
Russia has repeatedly made the unproven claim that one of the reasons for the war is to fight against neo-nazis in Ukraine.
In addition to this, the Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine surrender territories annexed by Russia.
Putin annexed four regions in September—Kherson Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk—despite Russian soldiers not having complete control over the regions.
The Russian military has since lost control of some of these regions.
More recently, Lavrov has dismissed Ukraine’s peace talk demands and insisted President Volodymyr Zelensky is causing stagnation.
During a press conference on January 18, 2023, he said: “Zelensky puts forward completely absurd initiatives, like a 10-point plan, where everything is piled up—food security, energy security, biological security, withdrawal of Russian troops from everywhere, Russia’s repentance, tribunal and condemnation,
He added: “[Talks are stalling] at least because [Zelensky] legally forbade negotiations with the Russian government.”
Newsweek has contacted Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment.
