4 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, declared on Monday that the European Union is currently “an unfriendly association”, in line with the Kremlin’s vision after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, initiated by order of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, on February 24, 2022.
“After all, it is the EU member states and the leaders of the union itself that openly declare the need to inflict on Russia, as they say, a strategic defeat,” he said in an interview with Russian media collected by the ministry.
In this sense, he has accused Brussels of “inflating the criminal regime in kyiv with arms and ammunition, they send instructors and mercenaries to Ukraine.” “For these reasons, we consider the EU as an unfriendly association”, he has concluded.
Thus, he has assured that Moscow will consider the proposals of the EU “if the Europeans at some point abandon their anti-Russian course and opt for a dialogue of mutual respect with Russia.” However, he added that the Russian authorities “will act harshly if necessary” in “response to hostile measures.
In addition, he has lamented the position of the United States “and its NATO satellites” for their “extremely risky bet on a further escalation of the conflict”, while expressing his position “open” to contacts that are “on equal terms conditions and with obligatory consideration of Russian interests”.
“However, they are not ready for this and a constructive dialogue with us, they are busy around the clock looking for new ways to contain Russia. The danger of such a line is obvious. We warn our Western colleagues about this by all methods available,” Lavrov explained.
ACCUSES THE US OF “TORPEDOING” ITS TIES WITH AFRICA
He has also criticized that “the United States and its vassals are doing everything possible to achieve the international isolation of Russia” by trying to “torpedo” its ties with African countries. “Attempts to prevent our cooperation with the southern and eastern states of the world will continue, but their success is far from guaranteed,” she said.
“Our main difference with Westerners is that we never teach our foreign partners how to live. We don’t have a hidden agenda. We don’t apply ‘double standards,'” he said.
The head of Russian diplomacy has admitted that his trips abroad have changed, as he used to often visit the countries of the European Union before. “The geography of my trips abroad (…) reflects Russia’s priorities in the international arena,” he said.
For this reason, he has highlighted the “close cooperation with African friends”, since it seeks to strengthen the Russian-African strategic association through the country’s participation in “projects for the digitization of African states, the development of energy, agriculture and the mining, and the guarantee of food and energy security”.
RELATIONS BETWEEN MOSCOW AND BEIJING
Moving to the Asian continent, Lavrov has claimed that Russian-Chinese relations continue to develop progressively, despite criticism of equitable ties based on alleged “dependency” and “unequal rights.”
“We see this as an attempt to overshadow our successes, to drive a wedge in the friendship between Moscow and Beijing,” he said. He has also complained that these criticisms did not arise in the relations between “Russia and the EU dependency.” “Now that we are redirecting exports to Asia, they suddenly decided to take care of us and ‘friendly’ warn against dependence on China,” he criticized.
Regarding Xi Jinping’s visit to Russian territory in recent weeks, he reiterated that Putin noted that the exchange of views took place “in a warm, comradely and constructive atmosphere”, while the Chinese president described the communication as “frank, friendly and productive”.
