MOSCOW, April 1. /TASS/. European values are not universal, and the desire to impose them on other countries has repeatedly caused trouble to Europe itself, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview Thursday.
When asked whether he believes that the EU’s current position opens limited possibilities for partnership, but a large potential for confrontation, Lavrov said he agrees with this idea.
"This is missionization - this habit to lecture, this illusion of own superiority. It is important to see this trend, which has repeatedly caused trouble to Europe," Lavrov said.
The top diplomat reminded that the European Union was initially established as the Coal and Steel Community, which later became the European Economic Community.
"If you take a look at the EU and the situation with values, they already attack their own members - Poland, Hungary - just because they adhere to somewhat different cultural and religious traditions," Lavrov said. "You said that Poland started it. I don't remember who started it. Right now, Poland itself faces the consequences of it ideas, not outside the EU, but inside this organization."
The Minister pointed out that, when values that the West believes have something to do with democracy and human rights are being imposed on Russia, Moscow has a very clear response: "the universal values are listed in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, signed by everyone."
"The values that are being invented now and that both us and other countries are forced into, are not universal, and are not an agreement of the entire global community," Lavrov underscored. "Even in the EU - did you see their protests? A couple of years ago they protests in France in defense of traditional families, the concepts of ‘mother’, ‘father’, ‘children.’ This lies deep."
The Foreign Minister underscored that it is dangerous to play with traditional values.