MOSCOW, February 22. /TASS/. The West is hatching out criminal ways of confiscating sovereign assets and private property, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"Criminal ways of confiscating sovereign assets and private property are being hatched out. The stake has been placed on extraterritorial sanctions, economic discrimination, unfair competitions, ‘green’ barriers, blocking efficient forms of technology and investment flows," he said at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

The West employs any tools for promoting its own tasks, the minister added. "Promises not to bring NATO close to Russia have been forgotten, with a course set for its global expansion," he stressed.

he foundation for mitigating military risks and supporting the strategic security architecture in Europe has been almost fully ruined, Lavrov said.

"The shift to detente during the Cold War enabled the Soviet Union and the US to lay the foundation for mitigating military risks, building a reliable strategic security architecture, mainly in Europe. Unfortunately, those achievements have been almost fully ruined by now," he said at a meeting of G20 foreign ministers in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.