MOSCOW, May 14. /TASS/. The West is no longer being perceived as a paragon of liberty and democracy, and its burglarious actions stripped Western states of their reputation as reliable partners, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Saturday.
"The West, which, as our President put it, has become an empire of lie, has long stopped being perceived as some paragon of democracy, liberty and prosperity," the Minister noted. "By their burglarious actions towards foreign material assets, Western states completely undermined their reputation as predictable and negotiable partners."
"No one is safe from expropriation, from state piracy, basically; therefore not only Russia, but many other [states] reduce its dependence on the US dollar, Western technologies and markets," the Minister continued. "I am certain that gradual de-monopolization of the global economy is not a distant future."
The Foreign Minister urged Western politicians to finally admit that "their efforts to isolate Russia are doomed."
"Many experts already admit it, if quietly, on the margins, because it is politically incorrect to say it out loud, but it is happening," Lavrov stated. "Meanwhile, outside of the West, an understanding is getting reinforced that the world is becoming increasingly diverse, and there is nowhere to hide from this."
"More and more countries seek real freedom of choice of its development paths, of participation in integration associations; more and more states of Asia, Africa and Latin America are unwilling to sacrifice their national interests and be a cat’s paw for their former metropoles. The vast majority of our partners, who felt first-hand the colonial and racist behavior of the West, do not join the anti-Russian sanctions," Lavrov underscored.