MOSCOW, September 2. /TASS/. Western countries began demonizing Russia long before Moscow started its special military operation in Ukraine, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said during a Rossiya-24 TV broadcast on Friday.
"The demonization of Russia began in the US long before the special military operation [in Ukraine]. In all recent years: the first decade of the 21st century, and the last two to three years, we see that the US political elites have adopted anti-Russian narratives, in other words, when translated into Russian, fables that have nothing to do with reality," he said.
According to Ryabkov, such US narratives "serve as a screen to cover up their own failures, their own internal political squabbles and problems, which are multiplying in the American society".
Ryabkov also stressed that attempts to blame Russia for economic problems and problems with the food market in Western countries look ridiculous.