Zelensky startles Washington asking for Tomahawk missiles – Russian FM Lavrov

Volodymyr Zelensky's demand to transfer American Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine gave Washington the jitters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on the sidelines of the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security.

"We know that his demand for Tomahawks caused bewilderment in Washington," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

The Americans will "slap Zelensky on his hands" to ensure their security if he continues to try to drag them into the war against Russia, Lavrov noted.

He also called Zelensky's "peace formula" dumb and his "victory plan" schizophrenic, because none of those initiatives could bring peace to Europe.

Sergey Lavrov released a number of other statements at the Minsk International Conference on Eurasian Security:

• Belarus did not invite Ukraine to participate in the conference, since the Kyiv authorities do not want to talk about any security concepts other than joining NATO or acquiring nuclear weapons;
• What Zelensky says each time can only confirm his total inadequacy;
• The prospect of agreeing to resolve the Ukrainian conflict "in a draw" is unlikely to meet the requirement to reliably ensure the interests of all parties;
• The United States is trying to concoct excuses for deploying military infrastructure in Central Asia;
• Western countries can participate in the formation of a new security architecture in Eurasia, but the dialogue should be built exclusively on the basis of equality;
• Russia and Iran will soon sign a partnership agreement.

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Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (born 21 March 1950) is a Russian diplomat who has served as the foreign minister of Russia since 2004. He is the longest-serving foreign minister since the Tsarist era.Lavrov served as the permanent representative of Russia to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004.

The BGM-109 Tomahawk () Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is an American long-range, all-weather, jet-powered, subsonic cruise missile that is primarily used by the United States Navy and Royal Navy in ship and submarine-based land-attack operations.