GENEVA, January 21. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said it is regrettable that "adult people" in the West prefer to argue who is tougher instead of addressing real problems.
In reply to a British correspondent’s question about Russia’s alleged attempts to regain a zone of influence in Eastern Europe Lavrov explained that the zones of influence emerged as a result of the policy that was conducted by the colonial powers, which were reluctant to lose their influence after decolonization.
"I discussed this [zones of influence] with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. It is very regrettable that adult people argue about such things. Who is tougher, and so on," Lavrov told a news conference following talks with Blinken on Friday.
Lavrov said that the West had devised various methods of retaining its grip on these territories.
"We do see that these zones are being put under control as before. And that new territories are being dragged into the zone of influence of our Western counterparts," Lavrov said.
He remarked that it would be far more important to address such issues as climate change, terrorism, drug trafficking and the novel coronavirus pandemic.
"This is what should be dealt with in earnest," he said.