MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. The United States, which "calls the tune" for Europe, will simply not allow the continent to exercise any measure of strategic autonomy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his annual news conference devoted to reviewing Moscow’s main foreign policy achievements in 2023.

It is ultimately the US and the UK that "call the tune" in Europe, Lavrov noted. "It’s embarrassing for so-called Continental Europe to hear all this talk from your neighbors in France that the European Union is [allegedly] fighting for strategic autonomy. Let me assure you: Nobody is going to give you this strategic autonomy," the top diplomat said in reply to a question from an Italian journalist.

French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly stated the need for the European Union to achieve strategic autonomy, implying, among other things, political independence, economic competitiveness and sufficient defense capabilities to ensure its own security without having to rely on the United States.