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Lavrov tells about provocations in diplomacy

According to the Russian top diplomat, sometimes it is better to refrain from swift reaction to negative steps
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Alexander Shcherbak/TASS
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov
© Alexander Shcherbak/TASS

MOSCOW, October 20. /TASS/. Some countries take provocative steps on the global arena seeking to set others against this or that state, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the Rossiya-1 television channel.

According to the Russian top diplomat, sometimes it is better to refrain from swift reaction to negative steps. "Maybe such steps are geared to provoke you to react, to use it later in order to set a whole lot of other state against you as they easily buy into such tricks," he said.

"But when they seriously hit your national interests, thing that are of principal importance for you, naturally, you must respond," he noted.

He recalled the actions of US’ previous president, Barack Obama, who "slamming the door when his administration was in agony, out of mere spite, seeking to avenge the Democrats’ defeat at the presidential elections, seized [Russia’s] property, expelled [Russian] diplomats."

"We did not react right away back then because we understood that it was a step aimed mainly against Donald Trump so that his presidency started with such a state in relations with Russia. As you remember, we took a pause then," Lavrov noted.

But, in his words, the US Congress simply did not let Trump develop normal relations with Russia, despite his declarations.