MOSCOW, May 29. /TASS/. NATO will not allow the European Union to decide where and how to use its armed forces, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with France’s TF-1 television channel.
He stressed that Russia has always respected France’s efforts to ensure the continent’s independence. "In his speeches, [French] President Emmanuel Macron seeks to continue the traditions of his great predecessors concerning ‘strategic autonomy.’ They invented a ‘strategic compass’ to give a military dimension to the European Union," he said. "It is unlikely to be useful because in any case the militarized European Union is already considered by the North Atlantic Alliance as a supplement to NATO rather than as an independent entity, which will decide on its own where and hos to use its armed forces. I am convinced that the European Union will not be allowed to do it."
"But, anyway, it is necessary to speak about such things. If we are interested in justice on Earth and in implementing what our presidents signed under within the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, I mean that security should be only equal and indivisible and that no one should bolster his security at the expense of others’ interests, then, naturally, we must speak with each other," he noted, adding that Russia would not take the West’s promises for granted any longer.
"After all these developments, which demonstrated the West’s actual attitude to Russia, we will be speaking from somewhat different position and will not take any promises for granted," Lavrov stressed.