MOSCOW, December 28. /TASS/. Russia currently doesn’t feel very inclined to maintain communication with Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Channel One television on Wednesday.
"We have very few opportunities to talk with the West and, in fact, there is not much desire either when we read statements by foreign ministers, prime ministers, and presidents that they need to deal with the security of Europe against Russia. They used to say ‘without Russia’ and now they say ‘against Russia,’" the minister said in an interview with the Big Game program.
Lavrov also had a comment about the idea to establish a European Political Community, saying it was like the OSCE but without Russia and Belarus.
"And I’ll say inside the parentheses that the idea of [French President Emmanuel] Macron to establish the European Political Community, roughly speaking, is an OCSE minus Russia and Belarus. This came from a person that a bit later said it was important not to lose the chance to build some security structure involving Russia. But the European Political Community will gain momentum. They are already planning another summit in spring and are seeking to get all our neighbors to participate, with the exception of Belarus," he said.
"Against that background, of course, we don’t have much desire to talk with the West, but when a concrete situation arises, when the West openly makes illegitimate moves, yes, we ask questions," the minister said.