The European Union is strengthening its line to contain Russia by continuing to interfere in the country’s internal affairs and expanding sanctions against its citizens and legal entities, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper.
According to the RIA Novosti news agency, Lavrov cited as an example the situation around Alexei Navalny.
“Baseless accusations against us are being replicated,” the minister added.
The last “novelty”, he said, was the European Union’s advancement of a new triad of principles for relations with Moscow: “rebuff” and “containment” are in the first and second places.
“And the third principle -” interaction “- is limited exclusively to” topics of interest to the EU. “The question arises: is it really in Brussels that they seriously expect to break the deadlock by using such a deliberately confrontational scheme?” Lavrov asked.
Western colleagues, as the minister emphasized, should be aware that there will be no “one-sided game”. In addition, Russia will not be intimidated by sanctions and threats, and the country will react to provocations and unfriendly steps, if necessary, “harshly but proportionately.”
Lavrov also noted that Moscow is interested in cooperation with the EU “in a spirit of pragmatism and mutual respect” and in compliance with international law. It is on this basis that Russia is successfully building relations with most of the countries of Eurasia, Africa, and Latin America.
“I am sure we can achieve a lot in cooperation with our European neighbors,” the Foreign Minister concluded.
