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Defense minister warns 'no animals in Western zoos able to boss the bear around'

"As the old saying goes: all lions are cats, but not all cats are lions", the Russian defense minister reminded

Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

Russia's Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu

© Alexei Nikolsky/Russian Presidential Press and Information Office/TASS

MOSCOW, February 21. /TASS/. Western zoos lack any animals able to tell Russia what to do, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday, taking a swipe at UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon’s warning for Moscow to keep its "paws" out of Libya.

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Putin says Russia is stronger than any aggressor 'but no time to relax'

"If we continue the topic of animals … What have they got on their emblem, the lion? As the old saying goes: all lions are cats, but not all cats are lions. Let everyone tackle their own problems themselves. We don’t think their zoos have raised any animal that is able to boss the bear around," Shoigu told students of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations at the opening of a youth forum.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon warned Russia not to interfere in Libya.

"Putin is testing the West, he’s testing the alliance," he said. "We don’t need the bear sticking his paws in," Fallon stressed.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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