MOSCOW, July 12. /TASS/. The Asia-Pacific regions should be saved from negative scenarios that the United States and NATO have brought about in other parts of the world, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview to Indonesia’s Kompas newspaper.
" Russia is a reliable supporter of the association [Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN]. The extrapolation to the Asia-Pacific Region of the negative scenarios that have been staged by the United States and NATO in other parts of the world must be prevented," he said.
The minister went on to say that Moscow was working towards "strengthening ASEAN architecture for stability and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region."
"Backed by certain regional players, the United States and its NATO allies are pursuing the launch of alternative bloc structures, including under the Indo-Pacific brand. These endeavours are designed not to promote cooperation, but to contain and confront, which is subjecting the ASEAN-centric system to a serious strength test," Lavrov added.