MOSCOW, November 6. /TASS/. Years of Western sanctions have taught Russia to preserve sovereignty and be able to engage in dialogue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"We obtained the ability to build relations with other countries without sacrificing our sovereignty and endangering our security, prospects for social and economic development and a rise in people’s welfare in the past, say, ten years, after the US started to impose never-seen-before sanctions on us," he noted, addressing the Znanie (Knowledge) marathon at the International RUSSIA EXPO.
"These sanctions have always been there but they became tougher and more comprehensive after the West had instigated a coup in Ukraine," Lavrov added.
He stressed that Russia could not rely on the partners "who can deceive us at any moment." "What you see now in the Russian government’s work and the decisions on our development that the president makes, as well as everything at the stunning RUSSIA EXPO, makes it clear that we are steadily moving in that direction," the foreign minister said.
However, in his words, Russia has left the door open for the partners "who show their reliability and don’t seek to take advantage of economic relations to achieve their selfish goals." "We keep the door open for the West, too, provided that the West comes to its senses and sobers up. We will see what it has to offer us. Depending on its offers, we will decide whether they are in line with the interests of our sovereign development or the West is once again trying to set a trap in terms of our country’s development prospects," Lavrov concluded.