MOSCOW, December 10. /TASS/. Russia has come to be seen as a truly independent power by the West over the past 15 years. However, given this, it faces constant opposition and resistance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with the RT TV channel.
"The West’s awareness that Russia is an independent power has had a cumulative effect. Russia will always prioritize its national interests. It is always ready to harmonize them candidly and equitably with the national interests of any other countries based on international law, but it will never be under someone’s thumb. That’s the most important thing that has happened to both Russia’s foreign policy and the media space covering relations between Russia and the West over the past 15 years," Russia’s top diplomat said when asked about the most important events of the recent years.
But this process is still far from over, Moscow is up against relentless opposition from the outside, Lavrov went on to say. According to Russia’s top diplomat, Western states have not abandoned their attempts to deprive Russia of the right to determine its future and "are trying to promote various scenarios for regime change." "Every effort is being made to sabotage Russia’s foreign policy, even in our neighboring regions, and prevent any positive results. We view that as a fact of life," he stressed.
Lavrov added that Moscow’s Western partners had revealed their real foreign policy goals, which are related to their desire to assert themselves, while laboring under a false perception of prestige instead of aspiring to provide real assistance in resolving conflicts to the benefit of the peoples in a certain region. "The desire to score propaganda points has dominated the West’s foreign policy for a long time, while overlooking the essence of the problems that need a solution in the interests of the peoples of the respective regions," he concluded.