MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. Moscow would not object to Western sanctions being lifted, but is not going to discuss this issue with anyone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday in an interview with UK Channel 4.
When asked whether sanctions will be included into the agenda of the July 16 meeting of the Russian and US presidents in Helsinki, Lavrov said he had "mentioned sanctions only in the context of deterioration of relations."
"We are not raising [the issue of] sanctions, pleading to remove them. It’s not our business, it’s for those who introduce sanctions to decide whether they want to continue or whether common sense would prevail," he said.
"We would not mind them lifted, but we wouldn’t mind also using this period to build up our own capacity in key sectors of economy, of our security and other areas on which a state - an independent state - depends," Lavrov continued. "In recent years, we learned a lot, including the fact that on these issues you cannot rely on the West."
"You cannot rely on Western technologies, because they can be abruptly stopped any moment. You cannot rely on the items which are essential for day-to-day living of the population coming from the West, because this could also be stopped," he added.
According to Russia’s top diplomat, Moscow was learning its lessons, but "would not be against sanctions to be lifted, and we would reciprocate, because we do have some countermeasures in place.".