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Johnson’s idea of new alliance targeted both against Russia and EU — Lavrov

The Russian foreign minister said that Boris Johnson never had different ideas

ST. PETERSBURG, June 16 /TASS/. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s proposal for creating a new military-political alliance is targeted both against Russia and the European Union, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in a televised interview.

"If Boris Johnson pushes ahead with this initiative, it will become clear that it is targeted against Russia, because he never has different ideas. Likewise, it will hit the European Union," Lavrov told the NTV television channel on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Thursday.

Lavrov likened the processes afoot in the West to a TV comedy sketch.

"You see, the whole process is a mixture of acting and serious intentions. Acting prevails, of course," he said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, while speaking at a joint news conference with his British counterpart Liz Truss in Kiev in February announced the launch of a new trilateral format of cooperation by Ukraine, Britain and Poland. As the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported at the end of May, Prime Minister Boris Johnson proposed creation of a new political, economic and military alliance as an alternative to the European Union, with Ukraine, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania taking part. Later, in London’s opinion, Turkey might also join a so-called European Commonwealth. The British initiative, the daily said, is designed for states that are extremely zealous about their national sovereignty, profess liberal views in the economy and oppose Moscow's policies.